FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATIONAL ANTI-GAY VIOLENCE PROGRAMS CALL FOR FULL INVESTIGATION AND DISCLOSURE IN SOLDIER'S DEATH

ANTI-GAY MOTIVATION SUSPECTED IN VICIOUS BEATING

Contact: Stacey Sobel, SLDN: 202.328.3244, ext. 113; slsobel@sldn.org
Jeffrey Montgomery, NCAVP: (313) 537.3323; trijeffm@aol.com
Richard Haymes, NCAVP: (212) 714.11`41; rshaymes@yahoo.com

(10 July 1999)----------- Responding to reports that the brutal attack and murder of a Fort Campbell, Kentucky soldier earlier this week may have been an anti-gay hate crime, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) today called on the community to help substantiate the facts, and for the military to disclose whether the murder was indeed an instance of gay-bashing.

In the early morning hours of July 5, 1999, 21-year-old Private First Class Barry Winchell was attacked in his barracks on base, allegedly by another soldier in his unit. Winchell died of his wounds on July 6 at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

NCAVP has joined the Servicemembers' Legal Defense Network (SLDN) in investigating this incident. The two organizations have received numerous calls concerning this crime, and SLDN has dispatched staff members to the Fort Campbell, Kentucky area to speak with people who may have relevant information. "SLDN takes allegations of hate crimes seriously and asks for the public's help in ascertaining the facts of this case," stated Michelle Benecke, a former Army officer and SLDN's Co-Director.

"The military has a grave responsibility to come forward with the truth of this matter, said Jeffrey Montgomery, a Steering Committee member of NCAVP, and Executive Director of Michigan's glbt anti-violence program, The Triangle Foundation. "SLDN, and others, have clearly documented the failures of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy. With this incident, if true, we see that the policy is not only wrong, but it's dangerous."

"The Army must come forward immediately with the details of this brutal attack," said Richard Haymes, also an NCAVP member and Executive Director of the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. "If Winchell's murder was the result of an anti-gay attack, the military must own up to it, and admit that their policies put people at risk."

Anyone with relevant information may contact SLDN by email at sldn@sldn.org or by phone at 202.328.3244, extension 113. If necessary, those contacting SLDN do not have to give their names.