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Welcome to BiNet USA.
As America's umbrella organization and voice for bisexual, pansexual, fluid and all other of us "somewhere in between" people as well as their lesbian, gay, transgender, "straight but not narrow" and questioning friends and allies, BiNet USA facilitates the development of a cohesive network of independent bisexual and bi-friendly communities; promotes bisexual, pansexual and bi-inclusive visibility; and collects and distribute educational information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity with an emphasis on the bisexual and pansexual and allied communities.
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First Person
History
By
Cliff Arnesen
( Copyright 2007. The
views expressed are strictly those of the writer and not necessarily those of
BiNet USA or any of its other officers.
At
around the age of four, my loving mother who, in an attempt to protect me from a
violent, alcoholic father who physically abused both of us, reluctantly placed
me in an orphanage. During my two years stay I was placed into a foster home,
but was quickly returned to the orphanage because I was hyperactive.
At age six, I was discharged from the orphanage and sent back to live with my
mother who lived on welfare in a one room apartment in Brooklyn, NY, as she had
a heart condition which prevented her from working. During the last year of the
four that we lived together, she took me out of school due to my hyperactivity
and tried to school me at home because I could not read or write at age nine.
 Realizing I needed special remedial attention, and understanding that she could not raise me alone on welfare in a cramped, one room apartment, at age ten, my mother sent me away to the predominately African American, Wiltwyck School for Boys.
The same school which the late Claude Brown, author of the 1965 best selling book “Manchild In The Promised Land,” attended; as did former Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, Mr. Floyd Patterson.
During the seven years I spent at Wiltwyck, I met and became friends with the late First Lady, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, who founded the Wiltwyck School, and who held annual summer picnics for all one hundred of us boys at her beautiful estate in Hyde Park, New York.
At age sixteen, I was discharged from Wiltwyck and sent back to live with my
mother. At seventeen, I dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and talked
my mother into signing a waiver for me to join the US Army--in an attempt to
escape from a life of poverty, filled with despair and devoid of hope.
However, several weeks into basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, I realized
that although I had managed to escape from the negative environment in Brooklyn,
I had also painted myself into a corner. I felt cornered because I agonized over
the painful reality of having to conceal the “attraction and affection” I
felt in my heart toward some of the other soldiers. Also, I was well aware that
I could be discharged or court-martialed for perjury -- having lied on the
entrance questionnaire which asked: "Are you a homosexual?" And,
"Have you ever engaged in sexual activities with a member of the same
sex?"
Nonetheless, I held my fears in check and completed basic training, went on to
Advanced Infantry Training School (AIT), earned a military high school diploma,
and finally, based upon my performance evaluation, was selected by my superiors
to attend Trainee Leadership School. But, I never made it to the school, as I
told my Company Commander that I was gay/bisexual, because I could no longer
live my life as a lie and conceal my "secret."
Thereafter, I was put under house arrest for several days, then transferred to
the stockade on a “holding status,” where I was interrogated by agents from
the Central Intelligence Division. (CID)
It was during the interrogation that the two agents told me that they thought I
was a coward who made up the story of being gay in order to avoid combat duty in
Vietnam. At that, and to my utter dismay, the Agents told me that they needed
explicit
"proof" --in the form of an act of sodomy --
in order for me to satisfy their thinking that I was not lying. Needless to say
I was shocked and bewildered that the agents would blackmail me because they did
not believe the admission of my sexual orientation(s).
Therefore, due to the ultimatum by the agents--and against my inner will --I
committed an "illegal" act of sodomy with another soldier. Afterwards,
the other soldier and I were forced to sign a joint "confession."
Then, they ordered me to seek the council of a Roman Catholic Chaplain and a
psychiatrist.
The next day, I had a brief session with the Chaplain, who simply told me that
God still loved me despite my “sin.” The Chaplain's words stung my heart, as
I was persuaded to the core of my soul that all "love" had to be okay
with God because God did not make mistakes! Thus, I was not a mistake!
However, it was during the interview with the psychiatrist that I felt a sense
of relief and a glimpse of understanding when the officer asked, "Private
Arnesen, do you like boys and girls? And, If so, have you ever had a
sexual relationship with the opposite sex.” In response, I simply answered,
“Yes.” After my affirmative reply he asked, "To whom are you most
attracted to, boys or girls?"
Without hesitation, I told him my feelings were equal: I was physically and
emotionally attracted to both genders. Then, he looked into my eyes and told me
he agreed that I was bisexual, but warned me that I would be discharged as a
"homosexual" because the military made no distinction between a person
who was "homosexual or bisexual."
Leaving his office under armed escort, I felt confused and lost, as I thought of
myself as gay due to the rigid codes of sexual behavior within both the straight
and gay communities. I thought I had to "identify" as gay because I
didn't know any bisexual people and lacked "acceptance" in the gay
community if I told anyone I liked girls, too.
Then, one morning shortly after the interrogations and meetings, a young soldier
with a loaded .45 caliber pistol entered my 8 x10 cement cell, handcuffed me,
and ordered me at gunpoint to march several miles through Fort Dix to a
courthouse -- all the while taunting that he would "shoot to kill" me
if I tried to escape.
Arriving at the courthouse, I was court court-martialed and sentenced to a year
at hard labor in the stockade--of which I served four months in “segregated
confinement,” as other prisoners had threatened to rape and kill me. After
completing the sentence, I was sent back to my AIT unit to face further threats
of death and psychological intimidation by my superiors and fellow soldiers.
Finally, on Wednesday, January 25, 1967, I was given an “Undesirable
Discharge,” based on homosexuality -- which effectively precluded my receiving
any and all future VA medical and educational benefits -- and escorted outside
the gates of Fort Dix by two armed military policemen. But in a final act of
defiance against the pain and humiliation I suffered at the hands of the
military, I took a lighter out of my pocket, set fire to the discharge and threw
it on the ground. Then I hitched a ride back to Brooklyn with nothing but a
subway token in my pocket.
Returning home, I nervously told my mother I had been discharged because I liked
guys, which she already knew, because I had previously admitted to her that I
had played "doctor" with some of the boys when I attended Wiltwyck
School. Thus, instead of being angry or blaming herself for my
"condition"-- like so many parents do -- she told me that she loved me
and it would remain our “secret.”
But five months later, my mother died of breast cancer. And, it was at my
mother's funeral that my sense of loss and despair turned to utter devastation
when my drunken father angrily told me that he knew about my "secret"
and disowned me forever.
Ten years later, in November of 1977, I petitioned the Department of the Army
for an upgrade in discharge, which was granted and changed from
“Undesirable" to "General Under Honorable Conditions.” But the
psychological damage and feelings of humiliation of having to constantly lie to
my friends, loved ones, and prospective employers, had taken its toll on my self
esteem.
Consequently, I continued on a twenty-two years binge of self destructive abuse
with drugs and alcohol, until I finally ended up having brain seizures which
forced me to seek medical treatment at a VA hospital in Boston, in 1983. There,
as I lay in a bed with needles in my veins to ease dehydration, tremors,
hallucinations and heart palpitations, a doctor told me I would soon die from
liver failure if I continued to drink a quart of vodka a day.
Not wanting to die, I attended AA meetings for a year, then went on to become
the first person in my family to go to college and graduated with high honors.
Later, in 1988, while taking a course at Harvard University Extension School, I
attended a meeting of the New England Gay & Lesbian Veterans in Boston, MA.
After the meeting, I dropped my course at Harvard's Extension School, ran for
office and was elected president.
Thereafter, during the winter of 1988, a VA nurse named Sheila Spicer, arranged
a meeting between a dozen members of the New England G & L Veterans with Dr.
Paul Camacho, Associate Director of the William Joiner Center for the Study of
War and Social Consequences, University of Massachusetts, to discuss the
possibility of GLB veterans' representation in Washington, DC
After three hours of emotional dialogue on the issue of GL& B veterans in
the military, Dr. Camacho agreed to let us participate in the upcoming Eighth
Congressional Speaker's Conference on the Concerns of Vietnam Veterans, held
annually in Washington, DC.
Subsequently, on Wednesday, May 3, 1989, I, along with Mr. Stan Berry, a gay
Vietnam veteran representing the San Diego Veterans Association, was able to
finally advocate on behalf of our country's GL& B military veterans.
On that day, I was deeply honored and humbled to become the first and only
"openly bisexual veteran" in US History to testify before members of
the US Congress, during formal hearings held before the US House Committee on
Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations --addressing
health care issues relating to GL&B veterans who suffered from AIDS,
homelessness, Agent Orange, drug and alcohol abuse, and less-than-honorable
homosexual and bisexual related discharges.
Likewise, a year later, on Wednesday, May 16, 1990, as president of the
"renamed" New England Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans, Inc.,
Boston, MA, I once again testified as an openly bisexual veteran before
Congress, as part of a special AIDS/HIV panel that included: Ms. ILonka Thomas,
HIV/AIDS Coordinator, Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Medical Center, Boston,
MA; Mr. Chuck Schoen, Public Affairs Officer representing the Veterans C.A.R.E.
Redwood Empire, and the only predominately gay Alexander Hamilton, American
Legion Post 448 in San Francisco; and Mr. Ken Huntington, President of the Texas
Gay Veterans Association.
The next day, under the direction and leadership of lesbian veterans' activist
SSGT Miriam Ben-Shalom, and with the assistance of gay veterans, Navy Ensign,
Jim Woodward, president of the San Diego Veterans Association; Bill Lake, First
Officer, Veterans Council for Rights and Equality, Los Angeles, CA; Ken
Huntington of the Texas Gay Veterans Association; Chuck Schoen and myself,
formed the National Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America. Now known
as the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER).
For the record, I state my feelings of love and deep appreciation to all the
aforementioned gay and lesbian veterans who voted to include the name
"bisexual" within the national organization. They did so due to my
insistence and personal friendship, but more importantly, because they
understood that our collective struggle for emancipation in the military
required unity my means of expanded inclusiveness.
Aside from forming the national GL&B Veterans of America, we also maintained
a close working relationship with former Congressman Gerry Studds-- a pioneer
regarding the issue of gays in the military; Congressmen Barney Frank; the late
and beloved Congressman Joe Moakley, former Congressman Joe Kennedy, and US
Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy.
On Sunday, March 15, 1992, in an effort to educate and enlighten heterosexual
people on the issue of Gays in the Military, I donned my Army fatigues and,
under a state court order and extremely heavy police protection, marched five
miles-- with 24 members of the GL&B Irish Group of Boston (GLIB) --through
an anti-gay, hate filled crowd of a half million people through the streets of
South Boston as an out bisexual Army veteran in Boston's infamous St. Patrick's
Day Parade.
Furthermore, on May 5, 1993, I, along with members and officers of the Gay,
Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans, Inc., Boston, MA, laid a wreath at the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to honor ALL of our country's
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered veterans who died in service to our
country.
After placing the wreath in front of the white marbled Tomb, I looked around at
the endless sea of bright white crosses that dotted the cemetery, and my
thoughts wandered to remember the late Air Force T/Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, whom
I had seen lay a wreath in the very same spot as I during the 1987 March on
Washington for Lesbian & Gay Rights, and whose epitaph on his tombstone had
inspired me so, which read: “When I was in the military, they gave me a
medal for killing two men, and a discharge for loving one.”
Unfortunately, shortly after the wreath laying ceremony, the Parent America
Legion called it “an act of desecration,” and later submitted a bill before
the US House Committee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, to permanently
ban GL& B people from ever serving in the US Military. Nevertheless, the
GLBVA and the New England GL& B Veterans pressed on with our collective
advocacy.
Hence, for the first time in US History, on May 5, 1997, I --along with gay veterans James Darby, then National President of GLBVA; Marine Corps Cpl. Edward Clayton, VP, Public Affairs; Mr. Mel Tips, Treasurer, and Mr. Terry Tobias of the Veterans Advisory Council --met face to face inside the Pentagon with Mr. Frederick Pang, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy, and with his aide Colonel David Schreier, Principal Director and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy --to discuss our collective dissatisfaction with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy,
As the only openly bisexual officer of GLBVA, I was deeply honored to attend this historic meeting in which we opened up dialogue by pointing out to Mr. Pang that homosexual and bisexual related discharges had increased to an all-time high in 1996, when 850 servicemembers were discharged due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation(s).
Additionally, during the course of the one hour meeting, we called upon Mr. Pangto consider an independent military review board be established to investigate reported or suspected violations of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy; to hold base commanders responsible for violations which occurred under their commands; to push for repeal of the sodomy statutes contained in Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice - which is the lynch-pin for discharge from the military, as it is arbitrarily applied and enforced against GL&B service members; to end efforts by the military to try and recover expenses for training from servicemembers who had been discharged for being GLB; to improve the treatment of veterans with HIV and AIDS at Veterans Administration hospitals; and to ponder the upgrading of all less-than-honorable discharges to the status of "honorable" in all cases where servicemembers were discharged solely on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation(s).
Two days later, officers and members of GLBVA and the New England GL&B Veterans, held another historic meeting inside the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, with Mr. Richard Socarides, White House Special Assistant and Senior Advisor for Public Liaison to President Bill Clinton.
Once again, we presented the same set of issues to Mr. Socarides as we'd discussed with Mr. Pang and Colonel Schreier at the Pentagon. In turn, Mr. Socrates voiced his strong support for our struggle to lift the ban, and assured us that we would have continued future access to his office to discuss the inhumane "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy.
A week after the two historic meetings with White House and Pentagon officials,
the Washington Post featured a front page article which stated that the
Pentagon was reviewing the enforcement -- not the merits -- of the "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy.
And, a week after that, I received a personal letter from President William
Jefferson Clinton, dated May 21, 1997, in which the President wrote:
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, DC
“Dear Cliff,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts regarding gays and lesbians.
Throughout my life, I have sought to heighten public awareness and promote
inclusion in order to send a powerful message of equality and acceptance to
people everywhere. Increased opportunity makes citizens more productive,
building stronger communities and a stronger nation. I believe that we must
continue to help people rise as far as their talents and determination can take
them so that we can make the most out of our great diversity.
As I continue working to end discrimination and protect the civil rights of
every citizen in our society, I appreciate knowing your views.”
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton
While grateful that President Clinton had taken time to write about his efforts
to work “to end discrimination and protect the civil rights of every citizen
in our society,” I could not help but think about his failure to “speak
up” against the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon
and the US Congress, to sign an Executive Order as promised to lift the inhumane
ban on GL&B people in the military. In my view, if the brass at the Pentagon
didn't like it, then the President, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed
Forces, should have fired or demanded the resignation of all who resisted!
Further, President Clinton's failure to sign the Executive Order ran even deeper
for me on a personal level, as on Sunday, April 25, 1993, I put on my dress army
uniform and, along with my girlfriend Claudia, shook hands with President
Clinton in the North End of Boston. Seconds later, I handed one of the
President's Secret Service agents a copy of my written congressional testimony
-- which I had submitted to Senator Sam Nunn's Senate Armed Services Committee
Hearings on Gays in the Military in March of 1993 -- in an effort to help
persuade President Clinton to sign the Executive Order to lift the inhumane ban
on "Gays in the Military."
This said, I did not write back to President Clinton. But, had I responded, I
would have submitted the last two paragraphs of which I concluded my May 16,
1990, testimony before the US House Committee on Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee
on Oversight and Investigations:
“It is not in the best interest of the United States Military, nor our
society, to maintain impediments and exclusionary policies toward gay, lesbian
and bisexual people who want to serve our country.
Furthermore, silence and indifference on matters of human and civil rights by
institutions that govern our society, is tantamount to immoral complicity in the
perpetuation of prejudice, discrimination and fear.”
Personally, I feel that the inhumane "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue,
Don't Harass" military policy -codified into law by the US Congress and
placed into effect on February 28, 1994 -is directly responsible for the brutal
and cowardly murders of US Navy Seaman Allen Schindler and US Army PFC. Barry
Winchell --both murdered in cold blood by their fellow servicemembers due to
their actual or perceived sexual orientations; and for the discharge of more
than 11,000 Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual American servicemembers, costing US
Taxpayers in excess of $363 million to enforce and administer.
Moreover, since the US is now engaged in a global "war on terrorism,"
our country needs every patriotic American to defend our Democracy. Yet,
President George W. Bush has directed branches of the US Armed Forces to
maintain a "Stop-Loss" policy which permits the military to retain
servicemembers on active duty--while still permitting the discharge of GLBT
servicemembers under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Also, prior
to taking office, President George W. Bush said, "I'm a Don't Ask, Don't
Tell, man."
What President George W. Bush fails to understand is the fact that GLB & T
people have fought in all of America's wars with great honor and distinction,
and have shed their blood and died on strange battlefields alongside their
heterosexual servicemembers in defense of our great Nation.
This said, the US Congress has mandated that the military be able to
simultaneously wage war on two fronts. But, with a military strength of 2.2
million servicemembers, this mandate is impossible to maintain and points out
the illogical and cruel double standards of the US military, as it continues to
discharge GLBT servicemembers during a global conflict which threatens the
security of civilization, itself.
On another note, I wish all my GLBT brother and sister veterans to know, that
during my nineteen years of advocacy as our country's only "openly bisexual
veteran" to lead a predominately gay and lesbian military veterans'
organization, I have taken "heat" from some organizations and
individuals for speaking up so vociferously as an out bisexual veteran.
To these organizations and individuals I sincerely state: it is my moral and
ethical responsibility to speak out on the issue of bisexuals in the military
and within the larger gay community, as all should know what terrible
consequences people can suffer when one does not "speak out" about
external and internal injustice. I only seek acceptance and recognition for ALL
bisexual people who have made enormous contributions in helping to secure human
and civil rights for the larger gay community.
Also, during my nineteen years of advocacy as an openly bisexual veteran--which
is a labor of love--- I lost my job and put my life on the line during the St.
Patrick's Day Parade in South Boston; and have received a half dozen death
threats over the years.
Thus, please know that I am a soldier in the war against the dark forces in
society which seek to destroy the human worth and dignity of "ALL" my
gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual brothers and sisters.
To further illustrate the bisexual component of the equation regarding
"Gays in the Military," I bring to your attention the 1982
directive by the Department of Defense regarding
bisexuals in the military, which states:
"Bisexual
means a person who engages in, desires to engage in, or intends to engage in
homosexual AND heterosexual acts."
"A member [of the Armed Forces] shall be separated if the member has stated
that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual--unless there is a further finding
that the member is not a homosexual or bisexual."
Unfortunately,
the military sees things in black and white, and has not a clue as to the
"gray area" which exists in between.
Personally, I wish we as human beings did not have to label our sexual
orientation(s). However, as is the case in the military where bisexuality is
"specifically" encoded as a basis for discharge, I must "speak
up" when it is not fully integrated in the equation of "Gays" in
the Military."
Therefore, in order to secure human and civil rights--not special rights--and
win the battle against the military and gain acceptance within society, I submit
that all GLBT people must have, and maintain the mindset that
"we are family."
To this effect, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stated, "Injustice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of
mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly,
affects all indirectly."
Therefore, I rest secure in the knowledge that ALL GLB&T people have a
rightful place in the universe and within our society, as "we" are
God's children...and God does not make mistakes!
As for myself, I have learned in my painful journey through life that "love
is where one finds it."
In gratitude to all my "family."
The struggle for emancipation from the bondage of "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" continues...
Congressional
Letters:
UNITED
STATES SENATE
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
JOHN
KERRY
MASSACHUSETTS
September 14, 1999
Dear Cliff,
Thank you for sharing with me your letter to the President requesting a meeting
on the unworkable “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, which I continue to
oppose.
I know that we have made progress in extending civil rights since I introduced
the Senate's first-ever comprehensive gay civil rights bill in 1985, but much
great work remains to be done.
I learned long ago while founding Vietnam Veterans Against the War that
Washington is not the front-lines of any struggle for justice: federal
legislators will always follow local activists when it comes to the extension of
civil rights to all Americans, including gay men and lesbians who serve in the
military.
This nation is a richer place for your courage and leadership.
All best wishes,
John F. Kerry
*****************************
CONGRESS
of the UNITED STATES
House of Representatives
Washington, DC
December
13, 1999
Mr. Cliff Arnesen
NEGLBV
PO Box 6599
John F. Kennedy Station
Boston, Massachusetts 02114
Dear Cliff,
Obviously I share your frustration that the President continues to be unwilling
to do more to alleviate the outrageous impact of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell
policy. And I have recently voiced that displeasure in the enclosed letter to
him which I have released to the press in Arizona. I’ll continue to work along
with you to try to make changes in this.
BARNEY FRANK
**********************
Gore/Lieberman 2000
National Headquarters
601 Mainstream Drive
Nashville, TN 37228
November 4, 2000
Dear Mr. Arnesen:
Thank you so much for writing to me regarding the issue of gays enlisting in our
country's armed forces. I appreciate hearing from you concerning this
controversial issue.
I believe that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy should be eliminated
and that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve their country without
discrimination. If I am entrusted with the presidency, I will make those changes
and propose legislation in Congress to eliminate this form of discrimination. It
is unacceptable that patriotic men and women who serve their nation with
distinction are not only discharged, but suffer persecution and even violence.
As president, I will continue to fight against hate crimes wherever they occur.
We all must stand together against bigotry, violence, prejudice and intolerance.
Together, we can and will shape the 21st century into one where we are judged by
our knowledge and contributions to society, rather than sexual orientation.
Again, thank you for writing and for your interest in a better future for our
nation.
Sincerely,
Al Gore
*********************
Accomplishments:
JAN. 1988
: Elected
President of the New England, Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans,
Boston, MA
May 3,
1989 and May 16, 1990 Testimonies Before the US Congress:
became the first and only openly bisexual veteran in US history to testify on
behalf of gay, lesbian and bisexual veterans before the US House Committee on
Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, on issues
relating to AIDS, PTSD, homelessness, gays in the military, and upgrading of
less-than-honorable discharges based on homosexuality and bisexuality.
May 1990:
(1 0f 5) Co-Founders of the National Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual
Veterans of America
(Now named the American Veterans for Equal Rights. (AVER)
PUBLICATION:
1991
Author of “Coming Out to Congress”, p.233 :
"Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out"
Alyson Publications, Boston, MA
Loraine Hutchins & Lani Kaahumanu, Editors
ISBN 1-55583-1745
Feb.
1991: Boston City Council Testimony:
At the request of Boston City Councilor David Scondras, I presented oral
testimony before the Boston City Council on the "Family Protection
Act," which would give state benefits to gay, lesbian & Bisexual
“Domestic Partners.”
March, 7
1991:
Interviewed by author Randy Shilts for his book: “Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and
Lesbians in the US Military”
April,
20, 1991:
Bi Any Other Name book signing at Glad Day Book store in Boston
August
27, 1991:
Changed New England G & L Veterans name to include the name
"bisexual."
March 15,
1992:
Under a state court order issued by Boston Judge, Harry Zobel, I marched a five
mile route through South Boston under heavy police protection through an
anti-gay hate filled crowd of a half million people, as an out bisexual US Army
veteran in Boston's infamous St. Patrick's Day Parade.
CONGRESS:
MARCH 5, 1993:
Supplied official and permanent written Congressional testimony to Senator Sam
Nunn’s US Senate Armed Services Committee, in an effort to lift the ban
on gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the military.
Sunday,
25 April 1993:
Shook hands with President Bill Clinton in Boston's North End, and handed a
secret service agent a copy of my written congressional testimony to Senator Sam
Nunn's Committee, in an effort to persuade the president to lift the ban
on G/L/B people in the military
MAY 5,
1993:
Laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National
Cemetery, along with officers/members of the New England, Gay,
Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans, Boston, to honor all gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered veterans who gave their lives in service to our
country.
POLITICAL:
Thursday, 19 September 1996:
Worked as an individual and openly bisexual veteran on US Senator John F.
Kerry’s Boston reelection campaign in Boston, Massachusetts
Feb, 16
1997:
Appointed to a two year term as National Vice President, Legislative Affairs, by
the Executive Board of the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America.
Renamed, American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
Monday,
5, May 1997: PENTAGON MEETING :
As National Vice President, Legislative Affairs for the Gay, Lesbian &
Bisexual Veterans of America, I, along with four officers of the GLBVA, met at
the Pentagon with Mr. Frederick Pang, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force
Management to discuss our collective dissatisfaction regarding the US Military's
inhumane "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy
Thursday,
MAY 7, 1997: WHITE HOUSE MEETING:
As Vice President, Legislative Affairs for the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual
Veterans of America, I, along with officers of GLBVA and the New England GLB
Veterans, met with the "gay liaison" and Special Assistant to
President Bill Clinton, Mr.
Richard Socarides, to discuss our collective displeasure with the US
Military' s’ inhumane Ask, "Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" Policy.
PUBLIC
SPEAKING:
1989: Keynote Speaker at the National Bisexual Conference, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA
1993: Keynote speaker at the Boston Ethical Society, Boston, MA
1993: Speaker, Men of all Colors Together: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
1998: Speaker, 5th International Bisexual Conference at Harvard University
ORGANIZATIONS
& ADVISORY BOARDS: 1989-2004
(1 0f 5) Co-Founders, Natl. Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America,
Inc.
(Now American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
Former National Vice President, Legislative Affairs, Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual
Veterans of America
Former President: New England Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Veterans,
Inc., Boston, MA
Member: Alexander Hamilton, American Legion Post 448
Former Board Member: National Bisexual Advisory Board
Former Medical Patient Services Assistant, US Department of Veterans Affairs
US Army (Vietnam Era Veteran (1965-1967)
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