The court decided that a member of the National Guard could not be discharged for saying publicly that he or she is homosexual or bisexual, but could be restricted to assignments that did not require recognition by the federal government.

§ 654), enacted by the Congress of the United States in 1993, and in part by the military regulations that implemented that legislation, which restricted inquiries and investigations into the sexual orientation of a service member.

In June 1993, Holmes was notified that his commanding officer had issued a request to remove the First Lieutenant's federal recognition as a consequence of the statement acknowledging his homosexuality.

Holmes was unable to convince the federal recognition withdraw board that he had no intention of partaking in homosexual activities, and was consequently discharged from the California Army National Guard (CAARNG) on May 21, 1994.

The U.S. District Court granted summary judgment to Holmes on his federal equal protection and free speech claims against the CAARNG and USARNG.