Filler: Do tell — an old wrong is put right

Lane Filler is a member of the Newsday editorial board.

Thanks to the end of policies that allowed the United States military to discriminate against gay men and lesbians, an 89-year-old veteran can hold his head high, branded "honorable" rather than "undesirable." The rest of us can rejoice that the last significant government-enforced prejudice is eroding.

Melvin Dwork is anything but undesirable. He's attained success as an interior designer working in Manhattan, and is frequently listed among the leaders in his profession. His papers have been collected by the library of The New School and his work is famous.

But in 1944, the United Stated Navy expelled Dwork, under the discharge designation "undesirable," because he's gay. Back then the rule was not "don't ask, don't tell." It was -- and had been since the first American military person was booted for being gay in 1778 -- be straight or get out.

Tuesday, "don't, ask, don't tell" ended, and openly gay men and women were free to serve in the military.

And this week, Dwork has been caught up in a whirlwind of interviews. By afternoon he sounded almost breathless and said, "This is pretty overwhelming."

"I started trying to get that designation changed six months after I was discharged," Dwork said, "but I got nowhere." It would be years before he could even see the paperwork that led to his expulsion, because it was classified, but Dwork kept fighting.

When success finally came, it was with the help of the Servicemember's Legal Defense Network, a group dedicated to fighting for those affected by "don't ask, don't tell." Friends suggested he contact SLDN to get help.

The proceedings that actually led to the change in his discharge designation happened on Aug. 17, when the Board for Corrections of Naval Records in Washington ruled that because of his "exemplary period of active duty" as a hospital corpsman on Parris Island, S.C., the change should be made "in the interest of justice."

Dwork says he figures there were just as many gay men in the military in 1944 as now, saying, "I think it's always been the same. It's a certain percentage of people, and it's not that unusual."

The big news this week is the end of "don't ask, don't tell" and the big number is 14,000. That's how many people were discharged under the law from 1993, when it was signed by President Bill Clinton, to this week.

But more than 100,000 people were drummed out of the military between 1940 and 1993 for being gay, often losing access to benefits, like health care and military burials, they had earned and deserved.

The end of "don't ask, don't tell" is a proud moment in our history, even if it did take too long to get here, because it signals more than just new freedoms. Anti-gay laws are the last realm of government-sponsored discrimination, and they're coming down fast.

Less than 100 years ago, our government codified hatred against so many people, on so many levels, it's hard to imagine today. African-Americans and women got their rights first, and slowly. For gay men and lesbians, the battle started later and isn't over yet. The tide, though, has turned.

And people's attitudes will follow. When governments sanction discrimination, it is reinforced. When governments stop sanctioning discrimination, it is weakened.

For Dwork, this week presents a double celebration of equality blossoming. First he enjoyed the end of "don't ask, don't tell." Saturday, he'll head to Fire Island Pines to toast the wedding of one of his closest friends -- a wedding that's both gay, and legal.