OMAHA, Neb. — Jene Newsome played by the rules as an Air Force sergeant: She never told anyone in the military she was a lesbian.
The 28-year-old’s honorable discharge under the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy came only after police officers in Rapid City, S.D., saw a marriage certificate from Iowa — one of the handful of U.S. states that recognize same-sex marriage — in Newsome’s home and told the nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base.
Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against the western South Dakota police department, claiming the officers violated her privacy when they informed the military about her sexual orientation. The case also highlights concerns over the ability of third parties to “out” servicemembers, especially as the Pentagon has started reviewing the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.
The law does not explicitly prohibit gays or lesbians from serving in the military but requires them to serve in silence. If they acknowledge their sexual orientation, they can be expelled.
“I played by ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” Newsome told The Associated Press by telephone.
“I just don’t agree with what the Rapid City Police Department did. They violated a lot of internal policies on their end, and I feel like my privacy was violated.”
The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has come under renewed debate after Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for a sweeping internal study on the law earlier this year.
As the review is under way, officials were also expected to suggest ways to relax enforcement that may include minimizing cases of third-party outings. In particular, Gates has suggested that the military might not have to expel someone whose sexual orientation was revealed by a third party out of vindictiveness or suspect motives.
The Rapid City Police Department says Newsome, an aircraft armament system mechanic who spent nine years in the Air Force, was not cooperative when they showed up at her home in November with an arrest warrant for her partner, who was wanted on theft charges in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Newsome was at work at the base at the time and refused to immediately come home and assist the officers in finding her partner, whom she married in Iowa in October.
Police officers, who said they spotted the marriage license on the kitchen table through a window of Newsome’s home, alerted the base, police Chief Steve Allender said in a statement sent to the AP. The license was relevant to the investigation because it showed both the relationship and residency of the two women, he said.
“It’s an emotional issue and it’s unfortunate that Newsome lost her job, but I disagree with the notion that our department might be expected to ignore the license, or not document the license, or withhold it from the Air Force once we did know about it,” Allender said Saturday.
He said his department does not seek to expose gay military personnel or investigate the sexuality of Rapid City residents.
Allender said the department was finishing its internal investigation and has determined the officers acted appropriately. They have not been placed on leave during the investigation.
Newsome’s partner is currently out on bail on one felony and three misdemeanor counts of theft stemming from an incident last year, court officials in Fairbanks said. More information was not immediately available, and Newsome said she didn’t know the status of the case and didn’t provide more details about it.
In the complaint filed last month with the department, ACLU South Dakota said police had no legal reason to tell the military Newsome was a lesbian and that officers knew if they did, it would jeopardize her military career.
Newsome, who was discharged in January, said she didn’t know where the marriage license was in her home when police came to her house Nov. 20, and claims the officers were retaliating because she wouldn’t help with her partner’s arrest.
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson, Senior Airman Adam Grant, said Ellsworth follows all laws set out by Congress and the Defense Department, but he would not comment specifically on Newsome’s discharge, citing a privacy policy.