I'm a Gay Army Officer—Queer Troops Mt Fight Back

Contents:

• FIRST ACTIVE-DUTY GAY COUPLE MARRIED AT WT POT
• FOR GAY UPL HOPG FOR A ARY BURIAL, THE FIGHT FOR LOVE DON’T END WH ATH
• WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A GAY MILARY COUPLE?
• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• GAY ARY UPL WELE PENTAGON CISN TO EXTEND BENEFS
• I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.
• ARMY WIV HIGHLIGHTS GAY MILSPO
• GAY ARY UPLE’S WEDDG PHOTO PROV WE’VE E A LONG WAY

FIRST ACTIVE-DUTY GAY COUPLE MARRIED AT WT POT

Gay marriage supporters hold a gay rights flag ont of the Supreme Court before a hearg about gay marriage Washgton April 28, 2015. At the time, former Print Bill Clton's policy, "don't ask, don't tell" was effect, barrg homosexual or bisexual members of the ary om disclosg his or her sexual orientatn and om speakg about homosexual remembered thkg, “this guy has a lot of guts, and he’s kd of cute, too.

"So we put our mds that we were never gog to say we were gay, we were never gog to get ma fun of, and we were certaly never gog to get kicked out of the Army. Campbell was the first gay veteran to secure burial rights for her spoe, and the pair were the first same-sex ary uple to be buried together at a US natnal cemetery.

The right to a ary burial for gay spo was guaranteed natnwi wh the legalizatn of same-sex marriage 2015, but only a handful of known same-sex ary upl are buried across the 172 natnal cemeteri the US – grounds rerved chiefly for ary members and selected fay.

FOR GAY UPL HOPG FOR A ARY BURIAL, THE FIGHT FOR LOVE DON’T END WH ATH

However, gay veterans have always fought for their right to be clud and celebrated such spac. Their tombston shout to the silence: “Gay is good, ” reads a plaque below the grave of Frank Kameny, an inic activist, civil servant and World War II veteran. A glossy namels marble headstone marks the grave of Leonard Matlovich, one of the first LGBTQ veterans to prott the ary’s ban on homosexualy, as one belongg to “A Gay Vietnam Veteran.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A GAY MILARY COUPLE?

But there are some thgs that I've noticed durg my time as an openly gay Mare Corps spoe and veteran. But as a gay man, I have been fightg my whole life to enjoy the very privileg I am entled to as both a beholr and protector of them.

I was one of few soldiers who joed the service before graduatg high school, but the admistratn at the time, which I believe was homophobic, chose to act as if I never existed bee of my queer hate that I experienced growg up on Long Island was my first enunter wh how others would treat me as a queer soldier.

Back then, the US ary did not regnize out gay and lbian service – and certaly did not regnize gay subjected LGBT ary upl to the merci of plex burecraci – and, Nelson's se, visa, ctoms and immigratn thori – that never imperiled straight had overstayed his 90-day visa Germany. Ls than two months after the US supreme urt stck down a feral law fg marriage as a unn between a man and a woman, the Pentagon on Wednday unveiled a sweepg set of chang that extend to gay spo the same benefs available to straight on.

I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK

The extensn of marriage benefs to gay ary spo, an evable oute of DADT repeal, unrsr the sweepg cultural change that Ameri – not jt the ary – has experienced such a short perd of time. "They're now workg as fast as an Amerin ernment burecracy possibly n to provi equal benefs, " said Denny Meyer, a former navy enlisted sailor and army rerve nonmissned officer who now works as a spokman for Amerin Veterans for Equal Rights, which promot gay-straight equaly the ary. A new benefs policy released Wednday by the Pentagon go a step not all US stat regnize gay marriage, the ary is permtg 7 to 10 days of paid leave, not untable agast the 30 days of annual leave received by servicemembers, "for travel to a state or jurisdictn that allows same-sex upl to be married, " acrdg to a memorandum signed on Tuday by actg unr-secretary of fense for personnel and reads Jsi Wright.

"This will provi accelerated accs to the full range of benefs offered to married ary upl throughout the Department, and help level the playg field between oppose-sex and same-sex upl seekg to be married, " explaed navy Lt Comm Nate Christensen, a Pentagon sence, the Pentagon is not simply providg equal benefs to gay upl, is removg an stutnal roadblock to gay marriage among servicemembers – a change unthkable as recently as two years ago. In rponse, and apparently to monstrate his petency his assigned posn, the nonmissned officer had taken upon himself to approach the person he nsired cled toward mtg a siar offense the future: me, the only openly gay soldier my un.

GAY ARY UPL WELE PENTAGON CISN TO EXTEND BENEFS

Together we approached our un’s learship, where she sisted that the ments had stemmed om the reprentative’s own homophobic feelgs and remend that he be reprimand and removed om his posn as the un’s sexual harassment watchdog. But by then was hard to ignore the anxiety I felt durg required social activi — “mandatory fun, ” as ’s lled the ary — or the tensn om my fellow moment I cid to bee a soldier and the moment I chose to live openly as a gay man occurred so closely time that ’s hard to remember which me first. It was still four months before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell, ” a double-edged policy prohibg askg any service member about his or her sexualy while enforcg a ban on openly gay service members.

I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.

Mike and Abe were to mentor me on how to survive as a gay serviceman. As long as gay soldiers kept their mouths shut, the burn of proof fell on those makg the accatns.

A uple were more elaborate: tailed scriptns of what might happen to me if I was ught alone, and proclamatns about the wrongns of gays the ary. There are moments when feels wrong to claim my stat as a veteran; as if beg gay ma me ls of a soldier and somehow validated my service.

Every memory evok an emotn: rage that I had to serve wh a nstant sense of fear of my fellow soldiers; paralyzg sadns for those who endured ab worse than I n know; and, the worst, guilt over the service members — gay or straight or transgenr — who died while servg the ary while my body is still whole.

ARMY WIV HIGHLIGHTS GAY MILSPO

upgra her secury ratg and dog so tells an vtigator she's gay. (2004), Gay.

Director Eytan Fox's 2002 gay.

not what some would ll a "gay" film but variably is the wist sense. Gun (1986), Gay. -- has some of the bt homoeroticism (jt say "Iceman" to any gay man and.

GAY ARY UPLE’S WEDDG PHOTO PROV WE’VE E A LONG WAY

get much gayer than that. (1981) Gay Adjacent.

gay adjacent (What About Bob, Ltle. eher is gay, Murray says, "You mean like flamg?