US Navy lnch ship named for gay rights activist Harvey Milk | CNN

Contents:

• TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
• SO ANY GAY GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN THE MILARY OR NAVY POST HERE?
• THE U.S. NAVY HAS CHRISTENED A SHIP NAMED AFTER SLA GAY RIGHTS LEAR HARVEY MILK
• US NAVY LNCH SHIP NAMED FOR GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST HARVEY MILK

TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

Navy nam ary ship after gay rights lear Harvey Milk and 's christened by a transgenr veteran.

Navy lnched the USNS Harvey Milk San Diego on Saturday, named for the first openly homosexual man elected to public office California. You’d thk celebrated gay rights activist Milk learned his lson after 900 of Jon’s followers were btally massacred Guyana, but he didn’t.

Dpe his obv affy for crimal behavr, Milk had one thg gog for him: He was gay.

SO ANY GAY GUYS WHO HAVE BEEN THE MILARY OR NAVY POST HERE?

It don’t matter that a sexual predator’s name is now stamped across a Navy vsel, matters that a gay activist gets his spotlight. Before "don't ask, don't tell" was officially repealed for gay, lbian, and bisexual ary personnel 2011, a photo of a male Mare drag uld have land him hot water.

"Lbian, gay, and bisexual ary personnel had been servg our untry for s whout receivg equal protectn, while transgenr troops are still prohibed om servg openly.

"As a gay man, I n relate to what is still the opprsive stigma of homosexualy.

THE U.S. NAVY HAS CHRISTENED A SHIP NAMED AFTER SLA GAY RIGHTS LEAR HARVEY MILK

The are the voic explag what has been like to be a gay man1 the Amerin ary over the prev seventy or so years, om World War II veterans their late eighti to young servicemen on active duty. Life Today as a Gay ServicemanHow we got here: In 1992, many people thought that the discrimatn was nearly over. "I remember beg the Castro, " says John Forrett (army rerve, 1987–99), "and watchg the TV at a bar wh some iends, watchg Al Gore and Bill Clton swearg that if they beme the tag team for Ameri they were gog to get rid of the harassment of gays and lbians servg the ary.

" Gay people were allowed the ary but only as long as they didn’t reveal their sexualy; to facilate this, all members of the ary were also prohibed om quirg about anyone’s possible orientatn. Gay people were only acceptable, effect, to the gree to which they uld succsfully masquera as nongay.

US NAVY LNCH SHIP NAMED FOR GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST HARVEY MILK

Seventeen years which gay servicemen have existed a paradoxil kd of herworld. Servicemen were advised that until then the policy would still apply, and that they uld potentially face s sanctns if they intify themselv publicly as gay.