Retired officers Brig Gens Keh H Kerr and Virgil A Richard and Rear Adm Alan M Steman, srg 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for homosexuals ary, disclose that they are gay; say they are first generals and admiral to e out publicly and urge others to follow; hope to spur dialogue about changg policy; disclosure is part of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network drive to mark 10th anniversary of promise to let homosexuals serve ary; work says nearly 10,000 service members have been discharged for beg gay unr policy; photos (M)
Contents:
- THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY U.S. HISTORY
- I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
- GAY GENERAL HID PRIVATE LIFE OM ARMY FOR YEARS
- GAY EX-OFFICERS SAY 'DON'T ASK' DON'T WORK
THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ARMY SECRETARY U.S. HISTORY
The U.S. Army has announced the promotn of a "gay" officer to the rank of general. by Dave Bohon * highest ranking gay military officer *
Tammy Smh, the ary’s hight-rankg openly gay officer, me out 2012, she has tried beg an example of livg thentilly while also beg a bean of visibily to other Soldiers and their fai.
The policy banned lbians, gay men and bisexuals om servg the ary. It terrified her to e out as gay such a public way, but she felt a rponsibily to do , she said. As difficult as was for her, g out publicly as gay “may not have been as easy for someone who was at a lower rank,” Smh said an terview last week.
I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
“When I me durg the 80s, thgs were different for women and gay people, and now 2021, the societal l are different aga.”. “People mt fd fort and ph back some of that ternalized homophobia, and build a b on the journey between hont and thentic.”. The First Openly Gay Army Secretary U.
But that omissn is what ma the Senate’s cisn to nfirm Fanng as the 22nd Army secretary this week such a historic moment: Fanng is now the first openly gay lear of a U. Ary service, and the hight-rankg openly gay Pentagon official the untry’s Senate nfirmed Fanng by unanimo voice vote on Tuday, eight months after Print Obama nomated him to replace John McHugh, who held the posn for six years.
Army is a monstratn of the ntued progrs towards fairns and equaly our natn’s armed forc, ” said Chad Griff, the print of the Human Rights Campaign, the largt gay-rights anizatn the U.
GAY GENERAL HID PRIVATE LIFE OM ARMY FOR YEARS
”In 2011, Congrs repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that sce 1994 banned openly gay men and women om servg the U. ”A earlier, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” allowed gays and lbians to serve openly after centuri of hidg, persecutn and dishonorable, we salute some of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer service members who paved the way for a more clive force. Ralph Earl via Getty ImagWhout this gay ary geni, the Contental army might not have won the Revolutnary War.
Friedrich von Stben joed the Pssian army as a teen, eventually beg an ai--mp to Frerick the Great, who was also mored to be gay.
But In 1763, at 33, Stben was unceremonly discharged “unr a cloud, hound by accatns of havg relatns wh young men, ” acrdg to The Gay and Lbian Review.
GAY EX-OFFICERS SAY 'DON'T ASK' DON'T WORK
Acrdg to Randy Shilts’ “Conduct Unbeg: Gays and Lbians the U. C., and the Stben Para, held each September down New York’s Fifth KamenyFrank Kameny Kennedy / Tribune News Service via Getty ImagOne of the Foundg Fathers of the morn gay rights movement, Frank Kameny enlisted the Army 1943, servg Europe throughout World War II. After the war, he earned a doctorate at Harvard Universy and tght astronomy at Geetown Universy, In 1957, Kameny had jt started workg for the Army Map Service, wh hop of beg an astront, when he was termated after vtigators unvered evince he was a, then 32, appealed the firg, argug that flatly labelg gay people a secury risk was “no ls od than discrimatn based upon relig or racial grounds.
The jtic refed to hear the appeal, but marked the first time the high urt even nsired a civil rights se based on sexual orientatn — and galvanized Kameny to beg a lifelong activist for equaly for gays and years later, 1965, Kameny, Kay Tob and Barbara Gtgs started the Annual Remrs, the first anized picket protts for gay rights Ameri, held at Philalphia’s Inpennce Hall. In the 1970s, Kameny bee the first openly gay ndidate for Congrs and challenged the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn’s diagnosis of homosexualy as a mental disorr, acrdg to a 2015 Department of Labor 2009, the U.
Wh urage and strength, you fought back, ” said OPM Director John Berry, himself an out gay man, the Washgton Post December 2010, Kameny was ved to the Whe Hoe to wns Print Barack Obama sign the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” to law. ”Fannie Mae Clackum Though ls well known than Kameny, Clackum beme the first service member to succsfully challenge a ary discharge on the grounds of homosexualy. ”While the lg Clackum’s favor turned on due procs, rather than a rejectn of the ban on gays the ary, was the first time the Armed Forc had to answer for attacks on LGBTQ service MilkHarvey Milk outsi his mera shop San Francis 1977.