Mayor apologizes for military gays comment

Yuma Mayor Al Krieger told the Yuma Sun on Friday he apologizes for a comment he made about gays in the military during a Memorial Day speech, which has since sparked some national headlines.

During the speech at Desert Lawn Memorial Park, Krieger expressed his disapproval of the proposed repeal of the U.S. military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy. The mayor said: “And I cannot believe that a bunch of lacy-drawered, limp-wristed people ... could do what those men have done in the past.”

Those comments have since gone viral on the Internet and have garnered national attention from the media and gay rights groups. Articles have since been written by The Associated Press, The Huffington Post and the Advocate, a major gay and lesbian news magazine. The latter carried the headline “Mayor fears limp-wristed soldiers.”

In a phone interview with the Yuma Sun Friday afternoon, Krieger apologized to the gay community.

“As mayor I must respect the lifestyle choices of others, no matter how disagreeable they are with my personal beliefs or my personal moral standards.”

“I apologize for my comments at the Memorial Day service at Desert Lawn cemetery on Memorial Day.”

Friday's apology follows comments Krieger had earlier made in defense of his original remarks. During a recent interview with KYMA, the local NBC affiliate, Krieger said: “I'm reluctant to compare myself to George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, but I did get some feedback, and I don't think I said anything different than what they would have said.”

Local gay rights activist Michael H. Baughman said he disagrees with that reference to Washington.

“History records prove Gen. Washington sent Benjamin Franklin to Paris to meet with the openly homosexual Prussian military genius Lt. Gen. Frederick Von Steuben, to ask him to come and train the American troops,” Baughman said.

“Von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge, that cold winter of 1778, with a young French nobleman who was his ‘assistant' and lover ... It is unlikely that Gen. Washington, engaged in founding a nation, had the time or inclination to concern himself with who was sleeping with whom.”

While the mayor has apologized, Baughman believes it is not enough. “It's rather self-serving in some respects and it really doesn't go quite far enough.”

“He is apologizing because he needs to as the mayor, but he has obviously made no effort to really get to know anybody (in the gay community).”

Baughman said he believes personal beliefs should be left out of political matters.

“He should have left out the part about his own personal beliefs … because he is the mayor of Yuma. He should have just apologized. Your personal beliefs have no business in the public forum.”

Baughman, who was honorably discharged from the Army in 1964, said being gay doesn't detract from a person's ability to serve in the armed forces. He responded to comments Krieger has made to local media about the ability of homosexual to serve in the military.

“It is disgraceful the chief executive of the city of Yuma, who should be representing all Yuma citizens, indulged in such character assassination of a particular group of fine and upstanding men and women who served in our armed forces,” Baughman said. “And what example does he set for those who wish to serve?”

Baughman said Krieger's apology is a good start but is just the beginning of the healing process.

Baughman said he hopes the mayor will meet with the gay community in Yuma and open up an avenue of direct communication. “That would be a big step forward for him, but when he was running, I made efforts to meet with him, and he refused to.”

Baughman would still meet with Krieger if the mayor chose to do so. “I've got all kinds of people that would meet with him.”

Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.