U.S. Naval Academy rejects gay alumni chapter
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Jeff Petrie was a leading advocate of creating a Naval Academy gay alumni chapter.
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(CNN) -- The U.S. Naval Academy's alumni association has rejected an application by "USNA Out" to form an alumni chapter for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender graduates.
The Naval Academy's board of trustees dismissed the application on the grounds it does not charter special interest chapters.
In a statement, the board said alumni chapters are formed by geography not "specifically directed to the interests of a discrete group of Midshipmen and alumni."
But USNA Out president Jeff Petrie has dismissed the board's decision, saying the Annapolis, Md.-based academy already has special interest chapters, including one for alumni who travel in recreational vehicles (RVs).
"They have not explained to me how an RV Chapter is not a special interest chapter, and now all of a sudden they want to recognize chapters based on geography only," Petrie, who is a 1989 graduate, said.
"We followed all the rules. The Naval Academy Alumni Association is not following their own in rejecting us."
In a statement, the USNA board noted the RV Chapter "serves alumni who are often on the road and as a result would find it difficult to participate fully in a fixed-location chapter."
Petrie met with David Church, the director of career programs at the Academy's alumni association, on November 11, Veterans Day, to present the application for USNA Out.
"By merely existing, we are lending support to those gay midshipmen in Annapolis and the officers in the Navy and Marine Corps," Petrie said.
"They will be able to see that we have successfully completed our respective paths in the military, and we hope that their outlook will improve. If we can do it, so can they."
Among the requirements for an alumni chapter is a list of at least 25 chapter members.
Petrie contacted 29 former officers from the Navy and Marine Corps and were willing to come out to their classmates and to the academy.
"We want to create the chapter to reconnect with our school," Petrie said.
"The environment at Annapolis has been disapproving and damaging for high-achieving gays and lesbians for many years. All 30 of us have lived through that."
