Schlegel v. United States is considered an early landmark case in the American gay rights movement.

He dropped out after being outed by a fraternity brother and was promptly drafted into the United States Army Air Forces, where he served two years on bases in Texas and Florida, performing office duties for the Office of the Judge Advocate General.

[1] Later that year, Schlegel enrolled at American University in Washington, D.C., receiving a master's degree in political science and public administration.

[1] After three years at the CAA, Schlegel worked for the Federal Civil Defense Administration at Battle Creek, Michigan, from 1955 to 1958.

He then became a civilian employee of the Department of the Army based in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he worked in the transportation office at Fort Shafter.

When he sought top-secret security clearance in 1960, military investigators uncovered three male soldiers who confessed to having sexual relations with Schlegel.

He declared that the charge of "immoral and indecent conduct" was unconstitutionally vague and that the civil service's efficiency was not impacted by his private life.

Barred from government jobs, he became active in gay magazine publishing, working as a proofreader, writer, and editor for Guild Press and Potomac News (both owned by H. Lynn Womack), Drum (edited by Clark Polak), and Trojan Book Service from 1967 to 1969.