Steve T. May, an Arizona legislator and openly gay Army reserve lieutenant, spoke to students on Saturday about his personal fight against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

May was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve last month for allegedly violating the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He is appealing the decision.

About 40 students gathered in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room to hear the Republican state representative speak about the challenges he encounters as a gay public figure.

The event was sponsored by Beyond Our Normal Differences (BOND).

May discussed everything from fighting for domestic partnership benefits to flaws in "don't ask, don't tell" policies.

"When you have a law which says that gays and lesbians are inferior to serve their country, you're institutionalizing discrimination....The law has to change," May said.

He described the policy as unethical and impractical.

"This policy is beneath who we are as American people," he said, pointing to the nation's philosophy of individual rights. He also cited the impracticality of the policy. "We fire three to four soldiers everyday because of something they have said, 'I am gay,'" he said.