Gays and the military : Joseph Steffan versus the United States / Marc Wolinsky and Kenneth Sherrill, editors.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steffan, Joseph, 1964-

Contributor:

Wolinsky, Marc, 1954-

Sherrill, Kenneth S., 1942-

Cheney, Dick, 1941-2025

United States District Court (District of Columbia), Content Provider.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Steffan, Joseph, 1964---Trials, litigation, etc.

Steffan, Joseph.

Cheney, Dick, 1941-2025--Trials, litigation, etc.

Cheney, Dick.

Equality before the law--United States.

Equality before the law.

Gay military personnel--United States--Legal status, laws, etc.

Gay military personnel.

LGBTQ+ people in the military.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (245 p.)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1993.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In April 1987 Joseph C. Steffan, one of the ten highest ranking midshipmen in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy, and only six weeks from graduation, was denied his diploma and forced to resign his commission because he answered "Yes, sir" to the question, "I'd like your word, are you a homosexual?" Six years later his cause, and that of other gay men and lesbians seeking to serve their country by enlistment in the military, has become the subject of intense national controversy. This unusual and innovative work, based on the litigation strategy and court papers filed in the case of Joseph C. Steffan v. Richard Cheney, Secretary of Defense, et al., brings the resources of clinical psychiatry, clinical and social psychology, cultural history and political science to bear upon the fundamental questions at issue: How is sexual orientation determined? How and why have socially prejudiced stereotypes about male and female homosexuals developed? Why have gays faced special obstacles in defending themselves against discrimination? How much political power do gays have? Marc Wolinsky and Kenneth Sherrill argue that gays constitute a politically powerless class that has been unjustly deprived of its constitutional right to equal protection under the law. They have collected here the affidavits filed on behalf of Joseph Steffan in his suit against the United States government, together with the counter-arguments of the Department of Defense and the extraordinary opinion of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Whatever the outcome of the case, presently on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, this book will stand as a lasting and indispensable guide to the sources of sexual discrimination.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A NOTE ON STYLE

INTRODUCTION / Wolinsky, Marc / Sherrill, Kenneth

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

On the History of Social Attitudes toward Homosexuality from Ancient Greece to the Present / Boswell, John

On the Use of the Term "Homo" as a Derogatory Epithet / Boswell, John

On Homosexual Orientation as an Immutable Characteristic / Green, Richard

On Gay People as a Politically Powerless Group / Sherrill, Kenneth

On Prejudice toward Gay People and Gays as Security Risks / Herek, Gregory

On the Ability of Gay People to Perform Well in the Military / Rankin, Robert

On Other Nations' Policies toward Gays in the Military / Dyer, Kate

Department of Justice

On Recent Developments in the Field of Brain Research / Green, Richard

Judge Oliver Gasch

TABLE OF CASES

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

Selected records and judgment in the case of Joseph C. Steffan v. Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of Defense, heard by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [191]-209) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9786612751790

9781282751798

1282751794

9781400821044

1400821045

OCLC:

700688335