Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ACLU files suit against police for refusing to hire a Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 16:10:35 EST Message-ID: \SE B;METROPOLITAN \SS (WS) \HD ACLU files suit against police for refusing to hire a lesbian \BY Alex Dominguez \CR ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT BALTIMORE BALTIMORE - The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the Maryland State Police yesterday for allegedly refusing to hire a woman because she is a lesbian. The suit claims the woman applied to the state police in May 1989 and passed several physical and psychological examinations before she was asked if she is a lesbian. After acknowledging that she is, she received a letter saying she would not be considered, the suit claims. "The Maryland State Police has a legitimate need for obedience and discipline within the police department," the ACLU quoted the letter as saying. "Homosexual or other socially unacceptable conduct will undoubtedly foment controversy and conflict with the department. This consideration as well as the concern of the police department to protect its public image and avoid ridicule and embarrassment, justify inquiry into the sexual preference or orientation of a trooper candidate," it continued. State police spokesman Greg Shipley declined to comment on the case or whether the department has a policy against hiring homosexuals. "We haven't reviewed the suit and are not going to comment on the suit or discuss any issue that directly impacts the case," he said. "That's going to have to be it from us at this point." The suit in Baltimore Circuit Court claims the decision not to hire the woman was based solely on her sexual orientation and "lacked any real or substantial relationship" to her ability to perform the job of a state trooper. The woman was not identified because she would still like to be a trooper and does not want to be harassed, the ACLU said. The suit seeks lost wages and benefits and an injunction forcing the state police to allow her to enter the Maryland State Police Academy. "The anti-gay policy of the Maryland State Police is outdated and increasingly out-of-step with the rest of America," said William B. Rubenstein, director of the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "Major police departments across the country no longer allow discrimination based on sexual orientation." Stuart Comstock-Gay, a spokesman for the ACLU's Maryland chapter, said many departments across the country cannot ban gays and lesbians from joining their forces because of anti-discrimination laws, but Maryland does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. A bill to do so was voted down by state legislators this spring. "What the Maryland State Police seem to be saying is having a lesbian trooper or gay state trooper will undermine morale and undermine trust," said Ruth Barlow, an attorney with the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "Those are the same kinds of arguments we are hearing about in the military. "What we are trying to do with this case is expose those fears as simply that, and as a veiled explanation for discrimination," she said. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM