Sergeant who was ousted on gay grounds reinstated

A federal judge ordered the Air Force to reinstate Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, who was kicked out of the service after declaring he was a homosexual. The judge said the dismissal was unlawful because the Air Force failed to explain its policies on why it retains some homosexuals in its ranks and expels others.

The Justice Department also announced a loosening of immigration restrictions barring homosexuals from entering the country. The new policy appears to provide for the minimal enforcement measures possible to fulfill a legal obligation to exclude homosexuals from the US under the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act. The revised enforcement policy was made possible when the Public health Service announced it was no longer certifying homosexuality as a mental disease or defect and asked immigration officials to stop asking it to evaluate suspected homosexuals.