Captain James K. Dressel (October 14, 1943 – March 24, 1992) was an Air Force pilot, and a

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

politician in the 1970s and early 1980s. Although he was a conservative Republican, in 1983 he co-sponsored the state's first bill to protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in employment and housing. He was profiled in

Randy Shilts Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951February 17, 1994) was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, Shilts began working as a reporter for both ''The Advocate'' and the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', as well ...

' book ''

Conduct Unbecoming Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of t ...

'' in the chapter "Heroes".

Biography

Dressel was born in

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...

, to German and Dutch parents, and raised in the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

. He graduated from

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan, United States. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman coll ...

in 1967, then enlisted in the

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. Beginning in 1970, he served a tour of duty in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, piloting fighter jets and bombing enemy supply runs from a base in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and other decorations. Following his military service, he became a member of the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

and began a career in politics as a Republican. He was elected to the Ottawa County Commission, and served as county treasurer before being elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

in 1978, serving the 95th District. Although he was a conservative Goldwater Republican, he cooperated with Democratic legislators on programs to aid the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and other practical issues facing the state. He surprised his constituents in October 1983 by co-sponsoring House Bill 5000, an amendment to the state's

Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), or Public Act 453 of 1976, which went into effect in 1977, originally prohibited discrimination in Michigan only on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, famil ...

to prohibit discrimination based on "

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

" in employment and housing. A 40-year-old bachelor, he was subsequently speculated to be gay, but refused at the time to confirm or deny it, citing the principle he was trying to demonstrate: that it shouldn't matter. He was soundly defeated in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

for re-election in 1984, by a candidate he had easily out-polled in the previous primary. He was later somewhat more open about his homosexuality, and became active in advocating civil rights protection for gay and lesbian people, including a stint leading the

Michigan Organization for Human Rights The Michigan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR, ) was a Michigan-based civil rights and anti-discrimination organization. It was founded in 1977 and disbanded in 1994, with most of its assets transferring to the University of Michigan Bentley H ...

. He died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

-related

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1992, at the age of 48. The Michigan Legislature passed a resolution honoring him upon his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dressel, James K. 1943 births 1992 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Michigan American LGBTQ military personnel United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War American gay politicians LGBTQ rights activists from Michigan LGBTQ state legislators in Michigan Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Hope College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Gay military personnel 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature