NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The captain of a U.S. warship fired for profane and anti-gay videos shown to the crew won't leave the Navy and should not be punished further, his lawyer says.
Attorney Charles Gittins said Tuesday Capt. Owen Honors should not face further punishment for producing the series of controversial videos aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise because his superiors condoned them.
Gittins argues the videos met standards for acceptable behavior at the time, and that at least five Navy admirals who saw them raised no objections.
"If they violated standards so clearly, how could five admirals have missed that?" Gittins said in an interview with The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot.
Honors created the videos containing sexual innuendo, profanity and anti-gay remarks, and showed them aboard the USS Enterprise in 2006 and 2007, when he was the nuclear-powered carrier's executive officer, or second-in-command.
He was made the ship's commanding officer last year but was relieved of his command after the videos came to light in early January following complaints by some crew members.
In a written statement to investigators, Honors said he was never told to stop. Instead, he said he had "affirmative and tacit approval of senior Navy leadership," the Navy Times reported.
Honors has not submitted retirement papers and does not intend to any time soon, Gittins said.
