MORE REASONS TO BE PROUD

Across the Pond in the land of my birth we were used to a whole stream of Daffyd Thomas up and down the country claiming to be the ‘only gay in the Village’ but last month we saw that changing with a few British towns that are no more than a map reference to most of us, now mounting their own small Gay Pride Events.  It would appear that from little acorns grow a lot of rainbow coloured flags.

Stateside in the euphoria that exploded with the Supremes finally settling the argument once and for all regarding same-sex marriage, and Gay Pride Month took on an even greater significance than usual as we just simply could not celebrate enough of how proud we are to be gay Americans. The Parades were bigger and better in all the major cities but what was even more thrilling were all the new Events in the least expected quarters. Not in the small cities who are now recognising both the presence and the needs for all their own local LGBT community, but in extraordinary places which would have been unthinkable as venues just a very short time ago. 

It has been less than four years since President Obama struck down ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ and finally gay men and women are allowed to serve in the Armed Forces and be totally open about their sexuality without fear of any recriminations.  It would be naive to think that just changing the law would simply erase years of the inbred homophobia or enable people to complete embrace the new culture without some sort of resistance, but progress is being made to ensure that that equal rights are the order of the day. This year sees a remarkable leap forward with an unprecedented number of Military Bases mounting their own Gay Pride celebrations for the very first time in their history, albeit in a very low key manner. 

In the snowy wilds of Anchorage Alaska, home to the Banished White Witch Sarah Palin,  Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), held their first ever Gay Pride event. It featured a speech from a transgender activist and a performance from local drag stars Hank and Caille. The occasion didn’t meet with universal acclaim as several serviceman serving on the Base and their wives took to Facebook to claim it caused offence to both them and Jesus, who it seems had appointed them his spokesmen for this and other events that they disapproved off.

The US Navy held it’s first ever Gay Pride celebrations up and down the country from Naval Air Systems Command,  Patuxent River,  Md., to Washington Navy Yard, to Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, San Diego.  At the latter there were three keynote speakers including, Fred Karger, founder of “Californians Against Hate” who is the first openly gay presidential candidate. Jacquelyn Atkinson, chairperson for the “San Diego LGBT Veterans Wall of Honor,” she’s a highly decorated combat veteran, and Sheri Swokowski, a retired army colonel with more than 30 years of service. She’s the highest ranking openly transgender service woman in the whole country.

Even being all out sea didn’t stop them marking the month with celebrations on the USS Phillipine Sea, or being stationed abroad as at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, where they celebrated diversity while making a statement about the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals into the U.S. Military.

“Lesbian and gay service members have been, and are, an integral part of America’s armed forces – even as they served in silence,” said Lt. Cmdr. Randolh Chestang. “Today, we all stand equal. We fight for the same cause and we all represent the Navy’s values of honor, courage and commitment. The Sailor’s Creed represents both the promise of loyal, honorable service of all U.S. Sailors, and as an affirmation of the commitment to treat all Navy shipmates with respect and fairness.”

The Airforce were not going to left out and stations like MacDill Base in Tampa, Florida held their first every Gay Pride Luncheon where the keynote speaker was banker Ashley Brundage, who is transgender.

It’s all a drop in the ocean, but a significant one none the less.  It marks a determination on the part of the US Defense Department to ensure that getting rid of ‘DADT’ was just the start of a movement to full equality and acceptance.  On Sept. 1, the Pentagon plans to begin issuing military ID cards to the same-sex married partners of military personnel. It will entitle them to scores of benefits, such as counseling and low-price commissaries and even health care and housing benefits.

Just today in a breaking news flash The Huffington Post announced that The Associated Press has learned that Pentagon leaders are finalizing plans aimed at lifting the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.

Senior U.S. officials say an announcement is expected this week. They say the military would have six months to determine the impact and work out details, with the presumption that they would end one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service.

It gives us so many more reasons to be proud.