Outed Lesbian Sergeant returns to Alaska

Jene Newsome, an Air Force sergeant stationed in South Dakota, was outed by city police, discharged under Don't Ask Don't Tell, and has returned home to Fairbanks with her wife Cheryl Hutson. They created a Justice for Jene! Facebook page, and ask us to contact the Rapid City mayor and council on her behalf.

Newsome served nine years in the Air Force before the forced honorable discharge ended her career. She lived according to the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and never told them about her orientation.

But the Rapid City police did tell. They told the Air Force they saw a marriage certificate at Newsome's home when they showed up with a warrant for Hutson, who was wanted on theft charges in Alaska. Newsome was not named on the warrant and did not commit any crime. The couple had married in Iowa, where gay marriage is legal just across the South Dakota border.

Please send an email to the Mayor of Rapid City, the Police Chief, and the City Council asking that:

1. the officers involved in outing Jene Newsome be reprimanded, and the police department issue an official apology to her, and

2. Rapid City implement a non-discrimination policy that includes protections for LGBT people and applies to the police department.

Rapid City Mayor Alan Hanks: mayor@rcgov.org

Police Chief Steve Allender: adminInt3@rcgov.org

Contact information for the Rapid City Council Members is HERE.

Newsome and the ACLU of South Dakota filed a complaint against the police for invasion of privacy, but the bigger problem is the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. President Obama promised to support a repeal, and a majority of the public agrees that qualified gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve. Congress is expected to introduce a repeal this summer, and Defense secretary Robert Gates asked the Pentagon to start changing the policy. The third-party outing that ended Newsome's career is yet another example of why Don't Ask Don't Tell must be repealed.

Keep up to date with Jene and Cheri on the Justice for Jene! fan page.