Don't Ask, Don't Tell on Trial

It looks like we might soon have a strong challenge to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of the military:

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reinstated a lawsuit by a former Air Force doctor ordered to pay back his medical school expenses after revealing he is gay...

...After completing medical training and one month before he was to report for active duty, Hensala notified the military that he intended to live with his boyfriend while stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Kansas. Though Hensala maintained that he wished to fulfill his obligations, the military ruled that he came out to avoid service and ordered him to repay more than $70,000 in educational fees.

He sued in 2000, but was prevented from challenging the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy itself. The 9th Circuit upheld it in Holmes v. California Army National Guard, 124 F.3d 1126, saying it had to defer to military policy on matters of national security.

However, Friday's panel said the question of whether the military violates the rights of gays and lesbians when it asks for recoupment -- rather than simply discharging them -- is a different question.

I've got really mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I think we're suffering a real cost on several levels by excluding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. On the other hand, so long as that IS the law, I'm a little hesitant to endorse free-riding off the military's educational scholarships. I'm not sure about the details of Hensala's case, but when I joined ROTC I had to explicitly acknowledge my understanding of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule. If Hensala had to do the same, I too am a bit suspicious that he "came out to avoid service."