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Will Limit Psychotherapist Privilege in the Services Murder of PFC Barry Winchell Encouraged Action |
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Compiled By GayToday
Washington, D.C.--October 7– President Clinton is expected to sign an Executive Order amending the Manual for Courts-Martial to provide for (1) sentence enhancement in hate crimes, including anti-gay hate crimes, and (2) a limited psychotherapist privilege for service members, among other provisions.
C. Dixon Osburn, Co-Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), an independent national legal aid and watchdog organization that assists men and women in the military who face witch hunts, hate crimes, harassment and discharge under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue." told GayToday: "The Executive Order contains two issues of interest to military members affected by 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue.' "The first governs anti-gay hate crimes. We welcome the rule providing for sentence enhancement in anti-gay hate crimes. Military officials need all of the tools at their disposal to discourage and deter violence motivated by hate. We are sad, however, that it took the recent death of PFC Barry Winchell at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky and reports of escalating anti-gay harassment in the ranks to obtain this rule." "The second change to the Manual for Courts-Martial of interest to military members affected by 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue' provides for a limited psychotherapist privilege," Osburn continued. "This rule is a good step for the military, bringing it into closer compliance with the Supreme Court's ruling in Jaffee v. Redmond, which provided for a clear psychotherapist privilege.
The Executive Order's hate crimes provision states in part, "Evidence in aggravation may include evidence that the accused intentionally selected any victim or any property as the object of the offense because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability or sexual orientation of any person." The Executive Order follows on the heels of new anti-gay harassment guidelines released by the Pentagon in August. Those guidelines state that commanders must investigate those who are alleged to have committed anti-gay harassment, not those who report it or are the victim of it. The Pentagon, however, has yet to distribute that guidance or implement any training on it.
The Executive Order's provision regarding a limited psychotherapist privilege states, "A patient has the right to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing a confidential communication made by the patient to a psychotherapist…in a case arising under the Uniform Code of Military Justice…." The Executive Order provides for a number of exceptions to the rule in the interest of national security and consistent with exceptions contained in many state statutes on the privilege. The Executive Order was proposed by the Pentagon's Joint Service Committee in 1997. SLDN has been urging the Pentagon and the Clinton Administration to take steps to address anti-gay hate crimes and privacy issues for the past six years since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" was first implemented. In six years, SLDN has directly assisted more than 1,900 military members. For copies of SLDN's Fifth Annual Report on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue," please visit SLDN's web site at www.sldn.org. |
