Gay West Point graduates fight 'don't ask, don't tell' standard

As a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, Dan Choi faced an ethical dilemma.

The academy's honor code was clear, beginning "A cadet will not lie."
Yet as a gay man, Choi felt bound by the military's "don't ask, don't
tell" policy to be untruthful about who he was.

In March, six
years after his graduation and two years after serving in Iraq, Choi
came out — even though he remains an infantry officer in the Army
National Guard.

His announcement helped launch Knights Out, the
first association representing gay and lesbian alumni of West Point.
Already, it has at least 50 members who've publicly identified
themselves on the group's Web site.

Its stated mission is to
push for repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" so that gays can serve
openly in the military, and to help prepare the West Point community to
be effective leaders after that policy change occurs.

Under the
policy, which President Barack Obama says he wants to repeal after
consultation with the Pentagon, the military does not ask recruits
about their sexual orientation, while service members are banned from
saying they are gay.

"Forcing people to lie — it's absolutely a
morally bankrupt idea," Choi said in a telephone interview from his
home in Orange County, Calif.

The chair of Knights Out's
board, Becky Kanis, has bitter memories of being investigated while at
West Point on suspicion that she was a lesbian. She graduated in 1991
and served contentedly for nine years in the Signal Corps, but said she
eventually grew tired of the need to deceive.

Kanis now lives in New York City, working for an institute that combats homelessness.

She believes the end of "don't ask, don't tell" is imminent, and hopes
Knights Out will be well positioned to serve as a resource on how the
military can deal with gay and lesbian issues.