Gay Sailor Faces Discharge Hearing

In a case that has outraged activists, a 26-year-old service member who was outed in 2009 faces a Thursday hearing in California to determine whether he should be discharged under "don't ask, don't tell."

Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Morado will face a three-member panel at Leemore Naval Air Station in central California in a closed-door hearing.

"All I've gotten is support and shock that this is happening -- nothing negative," Morado told The Fresno Bee..

Robin McGehee, executive director of GetEqual, said, "The fact that the Navy is trying to slide one more discharge in under the wire is disgusting, and must be called out for what it is -- blatant discrimination and bullying."

"Don't ask, don't tell," which led to the discharge of 261 service members in fiscal year 2010, remains in effect until the president, secretary of Defense, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the military is prepared to implement repeal, followed by a 60-day waiting period. Any potential discharge under DADT would need to be certified by service chiefs -- in Morado's case, the secretary of the Navy.

Read the Bee article here.