| -Caveat Lector-
Posted on Wed, Oct. 09, 2002
Gay psychiatrist must repay U.S. Air Force
KIM CURTIS Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - A gay psychiatrist ordered to repay
the U.S. Air Force $71,000 for his education argued to an appeals court
Wednesday he doesn't owe the government anything and the military's policy is
discriminatory.
Dr. John Hensala, 38, attended medical school at
Northwestern University, served his three-year residency at Yale University and
received a two-year fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco
- all with the understanding that, in exchange, he owed the Air Force four years
of active duty service.
Shortly before he began his service, he announced
he's gay. The Air Force promptly discharged him and demanded its money back,
saying Hensala voluntarily failed to complete his service commitment.
In June 2001, a federal judge ruled in the Air
Force's favor, dismissing the case.
Ray Hawkens, a Department of Justice lawyer arguing
for the Air Force, told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals that an internal investigation revealed Hensala intentionally revealed
his homosexuality solely to avoid military service.
"This is not an unsophisticated plaintiff," Hawkens
said in court. "He himself concedes he was aware of the 'Don't ask, don't tell'
policy."
But Hensala's lawyer, Clyde Wadsworth, argued that
when Hensala came out in 1994, the military's policy was untested.
"When he disclosed, the policy was new and there
was a lot of discussion in the media that it wouldn't be upheld," Wadsworth told
the judges. "You have to understand this in terms of what he knew at the time,
rather than 10 years later."
The judges peppered both lawyers with questions
during their 20-minute arguments. They were particularly interested in learning
what Hensala knew about Air Force policy and when he knew it.
Judge Richard Paez asked the government's lawyer:
"Did he have knowledge that if he made these statements (announcing his
homosexuality) that that would be considered a voluntary separation," hence
making him responsible for repayment?
"Defying the 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy" was
the "functional equivalent of a voluntary separation," Hawkens said.
Hensala has contended all along he was willing to
serve, but the Air Force simply refused to allow that.
The judges have no deadline to make a
decision.
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