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Compiled by GayToday
This article, according to GayToday's Senior Editor Jack Nichols, “is a deliberate attempt to trash important movement organizations doing their best to eliminate 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' inequities.” “The magazine itself,” Nichols says, “has recently been aiming its biggest ideological guns at us, publishing gay Republican apologist Andrew Sullivan's "biology is destiny" tirade on testosterone (a thinly-disguised attack on the equality of the sexes) as well as the Roman Catholic Englishman's article on how truly nice he finds right wing Christians to be. “Such editorial choices should serve as warning signals that all is not quite right in the editorial department at The New York Times Magazine." Michelle Benecke and C. Dixon Osburn, SLDN's Co-Executive Directors issued the following critique: “The cover story of The New York Times Magazine on Sunday, May 28, 2000, contains a number of factual inaccuracies and misrepresentations about SLDN's relationship with Ms. Calpernia Addams during the investigation and prosecution of Private First Class (PFC) Barry Winchell's murder. “The New York Times Magazine falsely claims that SLDN advised Ms. Addams to characterize herself as a man to the media in order to make it clear that PFC Winchell's murder was a "gay hate crime." The New York Times Magazinewas advised that this was untrue, they disregarded the facts of the matter, and chose to print the story anyway.
“The New York Times Magazine story is full of additional inaccuracies. Some involve SLDN, and some involve other people or facts in this case. The reality when it comes to SLDN is that we worked hard to press the military to treat PFC Winchell's murder as a murder rather than an "altercation" as they had initially labeled it. We worked on his case with other groups, members of the media, PFC Winchell's parents, Ms. Addams, and with many brave soldiers at Ft. Campbell who risked their careers to talk to us. We are deeply grateful to all involved. We have expressed our profound sympathies to PFC Winchell's parents and to Ms. Addams over their devastating loss. “We appreciate that The New York Times Magazine story appropriately pays tribute to Ms. Addams and PFC Winchell's relationship. Our concern is with The New York Times Magazine's unfounded and negative portrayal of SLDN. “SLDN is dedicated to serving military members who are harmed by "Don't' Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue." Under this policy, service members are being persecuted, harassed and, in this instance, murdered based on others' perceptions that they are gay. SLDN is committed to ending this discriminatory and unfair policy so that those of us who want to serve our country in uniform can do so without fear of harassment or death at the hands of fellow service members.” A May 25 letter to the editor of The New York Times Magazine signed by Calpernia Addams, Rhonda White, and Kathi Westcott—all interviewed in the offending article, further refutes the magazine's “gross” inaccuracies. It says: “Today's Times Magazine contains a cover story in which we three form the three primary interview subjects, including one of us who is the feature of the story. We were distressed to read the story in advance and find that the article contains gross factual inaccuracies. All three of us are in complete agreement that neither the Lesbian & Gay Coalition for Justice nor Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ever advised, recommended or otherwise suggested that Ms. Calpernia Addams self-identify as a man.” Finally, in a May 25 letter from Calpernia Addams to SLDN's Kathi Westcott, Pfc. Barry Winchell's loved one says: “I have read The New York Times Magazine story about my relationship with Barry Winchell. I am so sorry that the reporter, David France, at points misrepresented my sincere appreciation for you, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, and Rhonda White with the Lesbian & Gay Coalition for Justice. I hope that this letter in some way helps correct misperceptions people might have after reading that article. “As I have told you on many occasions, no one ever suggested to me that I represent myself as a man or deny who I am. To the contrary, I cannot thank you enough for your sensitivity and understanding throughout this difficult time. “As you can imagine, it has not been easy having to deal with criminal investigators investigating Barry's murder, reporters, and family, at the same time I am trying to cope with the loss of someone so near and dear to me. But you and Rhonda were there for me from the beginning. “You and Rhonda found a lawyer who was willing to represent me for free in my dealings with the criminal investigators and press. You helped me return photos of Barry to his family. You helped arrange a meeting between me and his mom, which, while I had to miss it, meant a lot to me. You let me know about all of the major developments in the murder investigation, and you let me know when and where the hearings and trials were going to be held. You also helped make sure that the military defense attorneys never called me to the witness stand, something that I was certainly dreading. And perhaps most importantly, you just checked in with me frequently to see how I was doing. “I do not think that I could have coped with Barry's death as I have without your and Rhonda's support. As a former Navy medic, I know how important you are to all of our service members - lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight and transgender.” |
Murdered Private First Class Barry Winchell 