Tina Smith: “I thought I would recount very briefly again the appropriateness of why this is on the military authorization bill…”

“I thought I would recount very briefly again the appropriateness of why this is on the military authorization bill, recounting the stories of two service people. One of these crimes resulted in the death of an Army private and the other the death of a Navy seaman. In 1992, Navy Seaman Allen R. Schindler was brutally murdered by his shipmate Terry Helvey in Okinawa, Japan. Helvey beat and stomped Schindler to death simply because he was gay. He didn't want his wallet; he didn't want his watch; he wanted him dead because of his sexual orientation. Helvey's attack was so vicious that he destroyed every organ in Schindler's body. He was so badly beaten that Schindler's own mother could identify him only by the remains of the tattoo on his arm. The medical examiner compared Schindler's injuries to those sustained by the victims of fatal airplane crashes. In another tragic case, PFC Barry Winchell was forced outside his barracks at Fort Campbell Army Base where he was stationed. In the early morning hours of July 5, 1999--this is very recent history-- Winchell was repeatedly beaten with a baseball bat by another Army private.”