Lawyer: Navy inventing grounds to fire sailor
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — An attorney says the Navy is inventing grounds to fire a sailor in South Carolina who was found in bed with another male sailor.
Navy Petty Officer Stephen C. Jones is contesting his discharge for unprofessional conduct.
His lawyer, Gary Myers, says the Navy believes Jones is homosexual but has no proof and therefore charged him with something else. Myers says the case could help prevent the military from using excuses to oust gay members after a policy against them serving openly is repealed.
The two sailors were found last month at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command near Charleston, in a case first reported by The Washington Post.
Navy spokesman Thomas Dugan declined comment on the case but said sharing a bed violates instructions for sailors to act professionally.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
