Gay Sailor Found Dead on Military Base in a Suspected Homicide

By Matt Corley, Think Progress
Posted on July 2, 2009, Printed on November 26, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.thinkprogress.org//141068/

Yesterday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the body of openly gay Seaman August Provost was discovered in a guard shack at Camp Pendelton. A “person of interest” in connection to the suspected homicide is now being held in the Navy brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. According to Provost’s sister, he had recently complained to his family that “someone was harassing and bothering him.” According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Provost likely didn’t report the harassment because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”:

The Navy would not comment on whether Provost’s orientation had anything to do with the death.

“While ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ is in place, anybody in the military who is a homosexual has no place to go to get assistance or counseling,” said Ben Gomez of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for gays in the military.

(HT: Raw Story)

Matt Corley is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.

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