NORFOLK, Va. (AP) – A new organization that opposes the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy brought its campaign to Hampton Roads and the region’s large military presence.

Four gay military veterans from Virginia discussed their experiences at a recent forum sponsored by San Francisco’s Military Equality Alliance. The group, which formed last month, has one paid employee and an annual budget of $80,000, executive director Jim Maloney said.

The Norfolk meeting was important because U.S. Reps. Thelma Drake and Jo Ann Davis are members of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on military personnel, which is considering a bill to repeal the ban on openly gay service members.

“It’s requiring gays and lesbians in the military to lie about where they go on the weekends, about who they’re talking to,” said Lara Ballard, co-chair of the group’s board and its coordinator for Virginia. “In an age of heightened security, why do you want a policy that requires service members to lie to their superiors about what they’re doing?”

The current policy, enacted in 1993, requires gay, lesbian and bisexual military members to keep their sexual orientation secret and prohibits same-sex sexual contact. U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., introduced legislation in 2005 requiring the military to adopt a nondiscrimination policy on sexual orientation.

The alliance hopes to encourage residents to lobby Drake and Davis for the bill in an area that is home to nearly 10,000 gay and lesbian veterans, according to 2004 Census data analyzed by the Urban Institute, a Washington nonprofit that researches economic and social policy.

Drake spokesperson Tyler Brown said prior to the meeting that the Congress member does not support Meehan’s bill and hasn’t heard much from her constituents on the issue. Davis’ office did not respond to a request for comment from The Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

Among the speakers was Vivien Viloria, a chief petty officer who retired last year after 22 years in the Navy.

“I think the hardest part was the fear of being found out. Toward the end of my career, it started just wearing on me,” she said.

Viloria still worries about going public with her sexual orientation.

“When we retire, we retire into the fleet reserve,” she said. “I thought, ‘Can they still take my retirement away?’ It’s a slow crawl out of that military closet.”

The other speakers, all retired, were Navy Capt. Robert Rankin, Army Col. Thomas Field and Roxie Hoven, who served in the Navy from 1986 to 1995.