![]() In 1979, Lawrence and Copy were interviewed together by Enlisted Times and WBAI (interview starts at 5:02). Lawrence Gibson, Copy’s civilian boyfriend during his time in Italy, chronicled Copy’s case in Get Off My Ship: Ensign Berg vs. Read Copy’s reflections on the qualified victory in this 1981 Philadelphia Gay News interview. The change applied retroactively as well so that any person who had been discharged for homosexuality could apply to have their discharge upgraded. In 1981, the Department of Defense reaffirmed its ban on gay men and women serving in the military, but it amended its policy to state that those forced out solely for reasons of homosexuality would receive an honorable discharge. Midge Costanza, a top aide to President Carter, was instrumental in the effort for more on Midge, listen to our episode with her then-partner Jean O’Leary here. While Copy’s case was unfolding, President Jimmy Carter’s administration had been putting pressure on the Pentagon to change its policy against homosexuals. (Thousands of additional documents pertaining to Copy’s case can be found among his records in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of The New York Public Library. Court of Appeals ruled that the Pentagon could not discharge homosexuals from the military without offering specific reasons in addition to their homosexuality read Copy’s appeal here and the judge’s decision here. The less-than-honorable discharge Copy received from the military after his administrative hearing was upgraded to honorable in 1977. The Times first reported on Copy’s case in this March 1976 article. To learn more about Copy Berg, read his 1999 New York Times obituary here. Credit: Photo courtesy of The Lucky Bag yearbook of the United States Naval Academy. Join me in Copy’s cozy Soho studio and have a listen. His military service and high-profile court challenge were well behind him, but his memories remained fresh. military.īy the time I met Copy, he was 38 and had built a career as an artist. But when he had the chance to fight the military over his discharge, he chose a path that moved the needle in the direction of justice and helped lay the groundwork for the right of LGBTQ people to serve openly in the U.S. Like many of the people I interviewed, Copy didn’t set out to be a gay rights pioneer. I was there as a journalist to interview Copy about his role as a young Naval officer who had challenged the military’s long-standing ban against homosexuals. Sitting on the floor of his artist’s loft, warmed by a wood stove (in Manhattan!) and sipping tea on a winter afternoon, I’m sure I had to remind myself more than a few times that we weren’t on a first date. ![]() Copy was cool, smart, and very attractive. From Eric Marcus : “I was thoroughly charmed by Copy.” That’s what I wrote, a bit primly, in my 1989 post-interview notes about Vernon E.
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