Coming Out for Funk: Conscientious objector Funk fundraising for legal defense
July 25, 2003
It was somewhat of a surprise party for 21-year-old conscientious objector Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk, as strangers greeted him at a benefit in San Francisco’s Castro district on Sunday to raise funds for Funk’s court-martial slated for Sept. 4.
What he found were friends among strangers — community activists, Vietnam War veterans and supporters, including Supervisor Tom Ammiano.
“I don’t even know anybody here today. I’ve corresponded with some people through e-mail, but I really look forward to meeting everyone and thanking everyone for supporting me through this,” said Funk, smiling and somewhat bewildered.
On April 1, the Marine reservist arrived at his San Jose base and delivered conscientious objector papers to his superiors. Funk, who had been absent without leave for one month, said he could not be a supporter of the United States’ war against Iraq because it went against his moral and pacifist beliefs and progressive upbringing. Later, Funk also announced to his superiors that he was gay, a violation of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on homosexuality.
“At the time that I had enlisted into the Marines, I was 19 and seeking direction in my life,” Funk said. “I was depressed and I wanted some sense of belonging in my life. I think I’m being punished for speaking out.”
Funk has spent the past four months at the Fourth Force Service Support Base in New Orleans along with other conscientious objectors. He will be in the Bay Area until the end of this month and will return to New Orleans on July 31. During his time here, he’s scheduled to attend several public events raising awareness about his case.
The soft-spoken Funk, who is half Filipino and half white, answered a smattering of questions from television crews and supporters, while sister Caitlin recorded everything her brother said with a camcorder.
In between the questions, Funk was able to snack on some watermelon and share some private moments and laughs with Caitlin.
Funk grew up in Seattle and moved to California to attend the University of Southern California. He decided to leave USC after a year, realizing that the school’s environment clashed with his personality and many of his beliefs. He went to the Philippines for four months to visit relatives and was planning to move back to California to transfer to UC Berkeley after establishing California residency.
“What my actions have been so far since April is definitely more fitting of me than enlisting into the Marines,” said Funk, clad in jeans, a raglan shirt and sneakers. “This is my normal behavior.”
Even though Funk’s dad was in the military, he said he never felt any pressure from his father to become a soldier. Funk’s father found out his son was gay at the same time that Funk came out to his superiors.
“He was weird about it and he was a little uncomfortable about it,” Funk said. “I was never really close to my dad, but I think he’s slowly accepting this.”
Funk said his decision to join the military was a lapse in judgment. He added that as soon as training started he knew what he was doing was immoral and hypocritical.
“I guess I was being delusional. I wanted to establish California residency so I could go to Berkeley and not have to pay out-of-state tuition, and I was delusional that I wasn’t going to really be part of the military,” he said.
As an Asian Pacific American, he said he thought of himself as a student first and foremost. He did well in school, but when he left USC, he had an identity crisis and decided to enlist.
As a reservist and non-infantry soldier, Funk said he wasn’t going to be deployed to Iraq; however, he was assigned to bases to provide support to soldiers who were about to be shipped to Iraq.
“I was basically going to be a cheerleader for the U.S. Army,” said Funk. “It was a logistical job. There were misreports from the media and people that I was going to Iraq, but I wasn’t. I was just going to be in an area where people were getting ready to go to war.”
Ammiano praised Funk for his courage and said that he and the Board of Supervisors are planning a proclamation for Funk in honor of his stance against the war.
“This whole thing is driving us crazy, first it was ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ and now this,” Ammiano said. “Stephen understands that gays have faced oppression and persecution and his act is a way, a step, in helping to end them.”
Funk is facing charges of desertion and intention to “shirk important duty,” according to Stephen Collier, Funk’s attorney, who is a member of the National Lawyer’s Guild Military Law Task Force in San Francisco.
“The Marine Corps and the U.S. government came down on Stephen on having been very public about this issue,” said Collier, who’s taking on Funk’s case pro bono. “They were unhappy with Stephen for having been public about going against the war. We expect not to do well during the court-martial, since most of the jury is made up of officers. But it will at least lay a foundation for further work. It’s going to be a long haul for us and we need all the support we can get to sustain this battle, and hopefully will see a victory in the horizon.”
Conscientious objector applications may take up to one year for review. The military allows for recruits to exit if they provide a credible religious, ethical or moral objection to the war.
Said Collier, “If things don’t work out, Stephen could face a maximum of one year in jail and a bad-conduct discharge, which would have bad effects for him.”
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