Reservist seeking conscientious objector status reveals he's gay

Herald-Tribune ^ | April 02. 2003 | KIM CURTIS

[John Lenin]

Reservist seeking conscientious objector status reveals he's gay

By KIM CURTIS
Associated Press Writer

A 20-year-old Marine reservist who failed to report for duty with his unit revealed in his application for a conscientious objector discharge that he is gay - providing another way out if the military rejects his argument that killing is immoral.

Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk turned himself in Tuesday to the Marines after being absent without leave since mid-February, when his support battalion was sent to Camp Pendleton.

The Marines have assigned him to desk duty in San Jose while his case proceeds.

Funk wrote in his 10-page discharge application that he's opposed to war and violence in all forms and that being gay has played a role in his moral development. "I believe that as a gay man, someone who is misunderstood by much of the general population, I have a great deal of experience with hatred and oppression," Funk wrote.

"I was appalled by the amount of hatred I found in the military," he continued. "The military cultivates anti-gay sentiment among its enlisted but I also believe it perpetuates feelings of hatred against all that are different either culturally, ethnically or otherwise," in order to dehumanize potential enemies.

Funk, whose father served in Vietnam, grew up in Washington state and enlisted when he was 19 and living on his own for the first time. He said he grew uncomfortable with the military when he was made to shout "Kill! Kill! Kill!" during a basic training exercise. Since his training, he said he's gone to every major anti-war rally in the San Francisco Bay area.

Funk's lawyer, Stephen Collier, acknowledged that if the Marine Corps refuses to grant him conscientious objector status, Funk will likely be discharged for violating the "don't ask, don't tell" policy by declaring his homosexuality in the application. The policy allows gays and lesbians to serve as long as they keep quiet about their sexual orientation.

"He's not in the closet, so we're not hiding it," Collier said. "There's a regulation that requires them to be truthful and complete in their application, and there's a regulation that requires him not to tell he's gay, and says 'if you do, you'll be discharged,' so there's a conflict there."

Northwestern University sociology professor and military expert Charles Moskos, who helped write the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, said Funk's revelation may undermine his application.

"As a legitimate conscientious objector he should try to defend his argument on moral and ethical grounds," he said. "Why do the double track?"

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has tracked such discharges, believes the military eases its restrictions against homosexuals during wartime. In 2001, more than 1,200 service members were kicked out for being gay, but in 2002, after troops were deployed to Afghanistan, that number decreased to 906, according to spokesman Steve Ross.

Conscientious objector applications, meanwhile, tend to increase during wartime. There were 111 granted during the 1991 Gulf War. Only 28 were granted last year, military officials said. It's unclear how many such applications have been filed since the Iraq war began, but non-profit groups that counsel people in the military about the process say they've handled more inquiries.

The Marines say they'll treat Funk's case fairly.

"The Marine Corps understands there are service members opposed to the war," Capt. Patrick O'Rourke, the unit spokesman, said after Funk turned himself in. O'Rourke did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment about Funk's announcing he's gay.

[CheneyChick]

Waste of tax money.

[noutopia]

I concur,every dime he should have to repay,and some time in the brig.

[stylin19a]

No kidding. In boot camp, the Drill Instructers used to refer to them as peter puffers, but the Drill Instructers use of the term( one of many er..colorful terms) was used on all of us.

Semper Fi....

[Michael Barnes]

heheheh..Amen to that..Gotta love the Drill instructors (NOT D.I., don't EVER call a Marine Crops Drill Instructor D.I.) had a very uncanny use of the english language..

[passionfruit]

He wanted govenment financial help for his tuition, and now that they ask for hm to do what he had sworn to do, he's discovered that he is a conscientious objector, oh and by the way, he's gay.

Gimme a break! Give him a courts martial. He never intended to serve.

[patriot5186]

You're right - he's looking for publicity. Boot him out or put him in a non-combat position that is monotonous. He's a quitter - he'll give up.

[L`enn]

Good name for him would be "Thievin' Spunk"

[Kay Soze]

"Funk wrote in his 10-page discharge application that he's opposed to war and violence in all forms."

Then why join the Marines? At some point he must have noticed the weaponery.

He should be made to pay damages.

He should pay for all the training costs.

[faithincowboys]

i heard him speak...needless to say, this revelation is not a surprise!

[RS]

"This whole story sounds like it was a setup from the get-go."

Smells that way - I want ALL the money he was ever paid in the reserves back, ALL the education money that might have been paid for him, and bill him for the time and effort of all the instruction and training given him !

[Naspino]

..and did this guy get money for college for being a reservist? If so -- then give it all back with interest.

[Timesink]

Give him a DIShonorable discharge and let him go home. That alone will punish him for the rest of his life in many unique and Schadenfreude-satisfying ways that he's too stupid to realize yet.

[ALS]

I heard him on the radio today and boy howdy did he sound gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[Timesink]

Next thing you know, he's gonna start wearing a dress, high-heels and a funny hat.

Didn't work in Korea; I sure as hell hope it doesn't start working now.

HORSEFEATHERS!

[Timesink]

He got what he wanted. He achieved the rank of "Lance"! Oohgah! Now it's time to squirm out.

[Kenno]

Better keep him away from his unit, or they'll be calling him HISTORY!

[Ronin]

... put him in a non-combat position that is monotonous.

And allow him to continue to wear the same uniform as our honorable MARINES. Not a chance.

Kick him out. He is not worthy to lick the bottom of a USMC Latrine.

[Timesink]

He said: My recruiter lied, thilly, but I'm thuper, sthatnks for athking.

About WHAT? Did he say "I swear to God there won't be any actual war while you're enlisted!"? That's about the only thing I can think of his recruiter "lying" about that would make a difference, and if it were true this kid should be convicted of the crime of Reckless Imbecility.

[tinacart]

I said the same thing the day I heard it, and heard his "voice" on the radio - it was obvious he was a homosexual. This was premeditated, 100%!

[Timesink]

Read the story:, hear the voice:

Funk: Future Democrat Presidential Candidate April 2, 2003 A firestorm erupted on Wednesday's program when I remarked upon this U.S. Marine, Stephen Funk, who is seeking conscientious objector status after going AWOL because he didn't know he'd have to kill anyone. I don't get how you can be a conscientious objector when everyone volunteers, or how you can not know that the job of the United States military is to kill people and break things. This kid wanted into Berkeley, and that's apparently why he signed up. I took calls from some military people outraged over this kid. One man called him a "coward." Another defended him a bit by saying that a USMC recruiter once told him that she'd never been shot at when he'd remarked he didn't want to sign up and get shot at. The instances of reluctance or people going AWOL are so few, that they're hardly worth cataloguing or noticing - which is why I hesitated to play clips of this kid on with Matt Lauer. Funk may have thought he was joining the Boy Scouts, as he said. That's fine, though I find it difficult to believe. I played those clips from the Today Show, but I don't want to focus on this one guy with all this heroism going on. Funk said something about it being immoral to be "trained to lose our individuality." That's not what happens. You have to have a command structure based on discipline. I think the calls this kid stimulated are good, because it gave people a chance to hear from people in the military - and to remember how truly rare and special they are. It also helps us recall the difference between the other side - which holds a gun to your child's head if you won't serve - and our nation that asks for volunteers, then gives them the option to change their mind. Funk said that there were only 111 conscientious objectors in Gulf War One as compared to 200,000 in Vietnam, so he wants to "spread" awareness of this option. Huh? Vietnam lasted 11 years and we had some 58,000 dead. Do we want to duplicate that too? We have less objectors because we didn't have a conscript army in Gulf War One and we did in LBJ's Vietnam. People volunteer to defend and protect our freedoms. I think we have deduced something here: Stephen Funk is imminently qualified to be a Democratic presidential nominee. "But Rush, he's not old enough to meet the Constitution's minimum age of 35 years old." Folks, please. The fact that he'll have to shred the Constitution only makes him more qualified to head the Democrats! He's exactly the kind of guy the Democrats are looking for when they're looking for a candidate, my friends. Keep that in mind. All's not lost for this kid. Listen to Rush... (...talk to Andrew about what the Marines mean, and what Stephen Funk did) (...talk to more callers on the Funk fiasco, and play Today Show clips of the kid himself) (...continue with the Funk fallout as the nation weighs in on this single objector) Read the Articles... (SF Gate: Marine obeys his conscience. Reservist didn't ship out with his unit to Iraq) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Conscientious objector, former Seattleite, gives up)