Gay Soldier Attacked at Fort Huachuca Discharged

FORT HUACHUCA, AZ (U.S. Newswire) -- Kyle Lawson, a 19-year old Army Private who was recently attacked by a fellow soldier who learned Lawson is gay, was discharged yesterday from the Army. Officials at Fort Huachuca, where Private Lawson and his attacker were both stationed, have refused to say if any appropriate action has been taken to hold his attacker, Private Zacharias Pierre, accountable.

"The Army should retain patriotic soldiers like Private Lawson and discharge those who viciously beat their colleagues out of sheer prejudice, like Private Pierre," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). "Harassment will continue to flourish and commanders will continue to condone that harassment, as they appear to have done in this case, so long as it remains official policy to discharge soldiers for being gay. Congress and the Pentagon must repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' immediately and impose strict penalties against those who engage in any form of harassment. If America is fighting for democracy abroad, it must abide by those same principles at home."

Private Lawson's nose was broken and he was later threatened with a knife after a friend revealed during a Battalion party in October that Lawson is gay. While Private Pierre was originally charged with aggravated assault by civilian police, Fort Huachuca officials have decided not to prosecute the case "for reason fort officials say they are not at liberty to explain," according to press reports. Lawson says the solider used an anti-gay slur during the attack.

Fort Huachuca officials also continue to refuse any explanation about why the civilian police recommendation to charge Private Pierre with felony assault was overruled, or to explain discrepancies between their various press statements and the police officer's account of the incident. Officials have also declined to cite any measures that may have been taken to hold Private Pierre accountable for the attack, citing privacy laws. SLDN today disputed that those laws place a complete gag order on the command.

"The privacy laws cited by Fort Huachuca do not prohibit military officials from explaining an appropriate course of punishment for similar incidents and confirming that punishment in a specific case was consistent with those options," said Osburn. "The command at Fort Huachuca owes Private Lawson, Congress and the public an explanation about why an anti-gay attack appears to have gone unpunished. Private Lawson has now been a victim twice: once at the hands of an attacker and again at the hands 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' The Army should exercise caution when it decides to drop felony charges as recommended by civilian police investigators; otherwise, it appears to be trying to cover up a crime."

In December, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) wrote asking Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker to explain why Private Lawson's attacker had not been held accountable. "I am struck by the cruel irony of your allowing a young man who appears to be guilty of nothing to be first assaulted and then driven out," Frank said in his letter.