Joseph C. Steffan v. William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense

From the beginning, the central issue presented by Steffan’s case has always been whether the military may constitutionally exclude from membership in the services individuals who admit to homosexual orientation, without any evidence of homosexual conduct or intent to engage in such conduct. Today’s majority reformulates Steffan’s appeal to avoid this critical issue. Through ingenious but totally unjustified uses of presumptions and inferences, the court seeks to transform Steffan’s case into one concerning homosexual conduct — when in fact the Navy has never even alleged that Steffan engaged…