End of ‘don’t ask’ ban allows for it
By Rita Price
Lee Reinhart, 38, who was discharged by the Coast Guard nine years ago, will join the Navy Reserves.
When he takes the oath of enlistment this time, Lee Reinhart won’t have to worry who might ask and whether he should tell.
Reinhart is a community organizer for Equality Ohio who was discharged from the U.S. Coast Guard nine years ago for being gay. He is to mark his official return to military service today during a ceremony in Chicago.
Reinhart learned last week that he had been accepted into the Navy Reserve.
“And the best part is, they didn’t even reduce my pay,” he said, laughing. “I’m still an E-5."
The Columbus resident re-joined in his home state of Illinois but will serve with an Ohio unit.
“I’m told I’m the first one in Illinois discharged under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ to be re-enlisted,” said Reinhart, 38, who works for Ohio’s statewide advocacy organization for gay, bisexual and transgender people.
“My former congressman is going to give me the oath, and all my family’s coming up.”
Reinhart has been part of nearly every chapter of the nation’s 18-year battle over the ban on gays in the military. He has served, lobbied, fought and hoped.
When President Barack Obama signed the legislation in December that repealed the ban, an emotional Reinhart was in the room. “No matter the hell we went through, it was worth it,” he said.
Reinhart first served four years in the Navy, earning promotions, but left in 1999 for college. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, he decided to join a different branch and signed up for the Coast Guard.
Less than a year later, Reinhart was forced out under the law that allowed gays to serve but mandated discharge if they were open about their sexual orientation. He says he was given a chance to deny that he was gay, but he couldn’t do it.
“It was an absurd concept,” said Tony Kawczynski, a straight shipmate who served with Reinhart. “ Don’t ask, don’t tell? Of course they make you tell.”
Kawczynski said he never understood how Reinhart’s civil rights could be different from anyone else’s. “How do you have that power over someone who just wants to serve his country?”
Since 1993, more than 14,000 service members were discharged under the law. The repeal went into effect on Sept. 20, and since then troops have been “coming out” — in letters, in person, on YouTube — at a steady pace.
Reinhart said he was thrilled to hear from his former Navy captain, who retired as a vice admiral after a 37-year career. They talked for nearly an hour, and the admiral immediately wrote a letter recommending Reinhart.
“He told me he never knew I was gay,” Reinhart said. “It was good to know that he didn’t know and still judged me on my character.”
rprice@dispatch.com
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