Army blasted over gay-bashing case

by Ed Walsh
Edwalsh201@aol.com

The U.S. Army is under fire over its handling an alleged gay-bashing incident in Arizona that it claims was provoked by the gay soldier.

The gay military rights organization, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, is blasting the Army for its handling of a case involving a 19-year-old soldier, Private Kyle Lawson, who reported that he was assaulted and threatened near the Fort Huachuca Army Base in Arizona after fellow soldiers learned he is gay.

Lawson told the Arizona Daily Star newspaper that a soldier broke his nose at an off-base party after a friend disclosed that he is gay. A week later, he said, another soldier threatened him with a knife. He said that he feared for his life and slept on a cot near the drill sergeant's office. Lawson told the newspaper that he feels he has no choice but to leave the military and has requested a discharge.

He was training to be an Army interrogator.

The first incident happened on October 29. Police in Sierra Vista, Arizona, initially handled the investigation. At the military's request, the Army took over the case.

"This is typical when incidents involve only military personnel or there is a predominantly military aspect to an incident," the Army wrote in a press release that it e-mailed to the Bay Area Reporter Monday, December 19.

SLDN noted that the alleged assailant, Private Zacharias Pierre, was originally charged with aggravated assault by civilian police and the organization doubted that the Army took the attack seriously. The aggravated assault charge draws an average of 3 1/2 years in prison upon conviction in Arizona and more if a judge finds the crime was hate-based, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

Full story here: http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=457