Don t Tell The Pentagon fires three to four people every day for being gay. The Pentagon discharged 1,146 gay service members in 1998, up from 997 in 1997 and 617 in 1994, when don t ask, don t tell began . Gay bashing has more than doubled, peaking at 400 incidents last year. Some of these incidents amounted to death threats. Reports of asking and pursuing increased for the fifth year in a row.
Commands seize diaries and personal letters to find out whether service members are gay.
In five years, military leaders have not officially disciplined anyone for asking, pursuing, or harassing. Pursue, published by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, March 15, 1999. Winchell s killer, Pvt. Calvin Glover, was convicted of premeditated murder. Clines, Francis X., Soldier s Murderer Convicted, The New York Times , Dec. 1999.