Constitutional Law

Demand Justice for Jene Newsome!

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU

Earlier this week, ACLU of South Dakota Executive Director Robert Doody blogged about the case of Jene Newsome, an aircraft armament system craftswoman for the Air Force who was outed by Rapid City police officers. She was discharged from the Air Force under the Defense Department's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy.

Today, the Justice for Jene Facebook group has a new message to send to Rapid City Mayor Alan Hanks and the Rapid City Council. The new message demands four things:

• The Rapid City Police Department issue an official apology to Jene Newsome.
• The officers involved in this incident are reprimanded.
• The Rapid City Police Department immediately adopt a policy that states that they will no longer out lesbian and gay military members.
• Jene Newsome is compensated for the loss of her military career.

Act now by sending a message to the mayor and Rapid City Council. The ACLU is also advocating for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell;" stay tuned for more on this morning's DADT hearing later today.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on March 18, 2010 (boomark / email).