2018 NJSBA Annual Meeting
2018 NJSBA Annual Meeting LGBT & Women’s Issues in the Military Co-Sponsored by the Military Law and Veterans Affairs Section, the LGBT Rights Section and the Diversity Committee Moderator/Speaker: Shawn LaTourette, Esq. Gibbons P.C., Newark Speakers: Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Sarajane (Sally) Stenton Law Office of Robert Ebberup, Toms River Sergeant Major Jennifer Long, U.S. Army (Ret.) Highest Ranking Non-Commissioned Officer Stephen Lessard, Esq., Surface Warfare Officer, U.S. Navy. (Ret.) Orrick, President Elect of the New York County Lawyers Association LGBT & WOMEN’S ISSUES IN THE MILITARY presented by: LGBT Rights Section Military Law & Veterans Affairs Section Diversity Committee Newark ♦ New York ♦ Trenton ♦ Philadelphia ♦ Wilmington ♦ gibbonslaw.com LGBT & Women’s Issues in the Military • Shawn M. LaTourette (Gibbons P.C.) – Moderator • Stephen C. Lessard (Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP ) – Former U.S. Navy • Jennifer Marie Long (Integrated Financial Concepts) – Former U.S. Army • Sally Stenton (Law Offices of Robert A. Ebberup) – Former U.S. Air Force gibbonslaw.com ♦ Gibbons is headquartered at One Gateway Center, Newark, NJ 07102. Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Military Service Past, Present, and Future Stephen C. Lessard A Brief History of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” • Historically, the U.S. military did not officially exclude homosexuals. – However, sodomy was considered a criminal offense as early as the Revolutionary War. – Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin is the first recorded discharge for sodomy (1778). • At the start of WWII, the focus moved from homosexual conduct to the homosexual as a person. • Driven by the psychiatric profession’s view of homosexuality as a mental illness.
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