J. Eric Peters

J. Eric Peters was born in 1962 and grew up in Belpre, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Army as a legal specialist. He had to fight for his honorable discharge and on his certificate it reads: “characterization of service: honorable” and “reason(s) for separation: engaged in homosexual act(s).” Peters served as a staff writer at Outlook News, contributes regularly to the Columbus Dispatch, and write for various other papers.
In his interview Peters discusses growing up in Belpre, when he knew he was different, and the path which lead him to serve in the Army. In the Army he found an LGBT community for the first time, but serving during "don't ask, don't tell" was difficult. Peters got caught up in an investigation into the sexual orientations with a group of his friends. He fought for and received his honorable discharge, which also involved him "coming out." He went back to school and got his degree in pre-law sociology before getting a job with the State of Ohio. Peters discusses his struggles with depression, his disability, and how he got involved in LGBTQ+ activism.
This oral history was recorded by Rob Berger as part of his mission to collect and share stories from the LGBT community of Central Ohio.
Ohio Memory: ohiomemory.org...