serving as co-chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Law Students Association there, he and other students, with the support of the law school dean and represented by American Civil Liberties Union, asked a Connecticut state court to ban military recruiting on their campus because the military's ban on service by gays and lesbians violated the state statute that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. He told a reporter that given his experience in the Navy having military recruiters on campus was "like someone kicking you in the stomach." In late 1992, Steffan published his autobiography, Honor Bound. Herbert Mitgang wrote that "What makes the book particularly readable is his account of discovering his homosexuality." Steffan began his third year of law school in the fall of 1993. In a newspaper profile that appeared in February 1993, Steffan carefully edited his statements to avoid affecting his lawsuit: "Because he is afraid of undercutting his lawsuit against the Government ... he portrays himself as purer than pure, refusing even to answer whether he has a boyfriend. His replies are careful, a mix of natural Midwestern reserve and lobbyist's savvy." He offered opinions of a general nature–"Heterosexual men have an annoying habit of overestimating their own attractiveness."–and described his mood as the debate about gays in the military had become a political issue: "I'm discouraged. In terms of the tenor of the debate, we've lost ground. I've come to appreciate the power of hatred. We're being portrayed as inherently immoral disease carriers unable to control their sexuality. I think people realize it's wrong to kick gay people out of the military. But they have been made afraid." As for the military: "I think what's going on in the military is denial and perpetuating the myth that the military is the last bastion of white male heterosexuality.... This male arrogant elitism that the military is an institution for a few, for one small segment of our society." The Appeals Court panel heard arguments on September 13, 1993. The court's questioning revolved around the Navy's apparent punishment of speech and its regulation of behavior outside the military's jurisdiction. Judges asked hypothetical questions about a servicemember who was celibate or promised not to engage in homosexual sex while in the military, or one who only engaged in such acts off-base with a civilian in a jurisdiction where such behavior was not criminalized. The government's attorney argued