Court reinstates gay doctor's case against Air Force

[LeftCoast]

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that a gay doctor discharged from the U.S. Air Force may not have to pay $71,500 to the government for his medical education.

John Hensala, 38, obtained free medical school funding from the U.S. Air Force in exchange for a promise to serve four years as a military doctor. But when he was ordered to report for duty, he notified the service that he was gay and told authorities he would be living with his boyfriend at Scott Air Force Base in Kansas, where he was to report in 1995.

The military discharged him under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring service from homosexuals, and demanded he return the $71,500 the government spent on his education. Hensala sued, saying he didn't have to pay.

The service promised to pay for his education if he fulfilled his four-year obligation. But the deal also demanded that he pay for it if he did not fulfill the deal.

The case does not test the military's ability to discharge homosexuals. That policy has already been upheld by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the discrimination was justified to promote "unit cohesion" and military preparedness.

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This could really hurt the military's DADT policy!

read the rest

[jiacinto]

1. The 9th's ruling suprises me

It really does.