She had a 15-year marriage to Harvey Hawken and they had four sons. She divorced in 1980. In 1988, when she was 46, she met the woman who later became her wife, Diane Divelbess.
In 1989, responding to a question during a routine security clearance interview, she disclosed that she is a lesbian. The National Guard began military discharge proceedings against her. On June 11, 1992, she was honorably discharged. Cammermeyer filed a lawsuit against the decision in civil court. In June 1994, Judge Thomas Zilly of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that her discharge and the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military were unconstitutional. She returned to the National Guard and served as one of the few openly gay or lesbian people in the U.S. military while the "don't ask don't tell" policy was in effect, until her retirement in 1997.
A television movie about Cammermeyer's story, Serving in Silence, was made in 1995, with Glenn Close starring as Cammermeyer. Its content was largely taken from Cammermeyer's autobiography of the same name.
The Point Foundation announced plans to honor Cammermeyer with its Point Legend Award in April 2011.[2]
In 2012, after same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington state, Cammermeyer and her wife Diane Divelbess became the first same-sex couple to get a license in Island County.[3]
^ (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs). June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
^Cohen, Cammermeyer Honored by Point Foundation January 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^Burnett, Justin (December 9, 2012). "Same-sex couples celebrate, wed on historic day in Island County". South Whidbey Record. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
External linksedit
Official site
on Matt and Andrej Koymansky's Famous GLTB page
on
December 15, 2023
margarethe, cammermeyer, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, ar. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Margarethe Cammermeyer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Margarethe Grethe Cammermeyer born March 24 1942 is a former Norwegian American military officer She served as a colonel in the Washington National Guard and became a gay rights activist Margarethe CammermeyerBorn 1942 03 24 March 24 1942 age 81 Oslo NorwayCitizenshipNorway and U S Alma materUniversity of Maryland Baltimore BS University of Washington MS PhD Known forLGBT rights activism Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career and activism 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and education editBorn in Oslo Norway she became a United States citizen in 1960 In 1961 she joined the Army Nurse Corps as a student She received a B S in nursing in 1963 from the University of Maryland At the University of Washington School of Nursing she earned a master s degree in 1976 and a Ph D in 1991 Career and activism editShe had a 15 year marriage to Harvey Hawken and they had four sons She divorced in 1980 In 1988 when she was 46 she met the woman who later became her wife Diane Divelbess In 1989 responding to a question during a routine security clearance interview she disclosed that she is a lesbian The National Guard began military discharge proceedings against her On June 11 1992 she was honorably discharged Cammermeyer filed a lawsuit against the decision in civil court In June 1994 Judge Thomas Zilly of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that her discharge and the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military were unconstitutional She returned to the National Guard and served as one of the few openly gay or lesbian people in the U S military while the don t ask don t tell policy was in effect until her retirement in 1997 A television movie about Cammermeyer s story Serving in Silence was made in 1995 with Glenn Close starring as Cammermeyer Its content was largely taken from Cammermeyer s autobiography of the same name After retirement Cammermeyer ran for the United States Congress in Washington s 2nd congressional district in 1998 She won the Democratic primary but lost in the general election to Republican incumbent Jack Metcalf In June 2010 she was appointed to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services a committee which is appointed by the United States Secretary of Defense and which reports to the United States Department of Defense 1 The Point Foundation announced plans to honor Cammermeyer with its Point Legend Award in April 2011 2 In 2012 after same sex marriage was legalized in Washington state Cammermeyer and her wife Diane Divelbess became the first same sex couple to get a license in Island County 3 See also editSexual orientation and the United States militaryReferences edit 2010 DACOWITS Committee Members Announced Press release U S Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense Public Affairs June 2 2010 Archived from the original on August 29 2010 Retrieved June 2 2010 Cohen Cammermeyer Honored by Point Foundation Archived January 28 2011 at the Wayback Machine Burnett Justin December 9 2012 Same sex couples celebrate wed on historic day in Island County South Whidbey Record Retrieved December 10 2012 External links editOfficial site Margerethe Cammermeyer on Matt and Andrej Koymansky s Famous GLTB page Margerethe Cammermeyer on glbtq encyclopedia Planet Out article Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Margarethe Cammermeyer amp oldid 1148264447, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
