U.S. Military Holds First Gay Pride Event

Religion Today | Updated: Jul 13, 2012

U.S. Military Holds First Gay Pride Event

The U.S. military broke with history on June 26, holding its first celebration of homosexuality at the Pentagon, WORLD News Service reports. Jeh Johnson, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense, delivered a keynote address before a panel discussion titled "The Value of Open Service and Diversity." Johnson, who co-wrote the report that eventually led to the Obama administration repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" last September, said the repeal had not affected the military in any tangible way, but Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, disagreed. "There have been signs of discontent with the situation," she said, citing a U.S. Army study on stress and sex-crime trends. "The most important thing is, people in the military follow orders, and one is you don't go out and question policy once it's been changed. So there's no vehicle for people in the military to register discomfort with the new LGBT law." Donnelly said "diversity" actually weakened the military, and that civilian activists were using it for social engineering. "What makes our military strong are the intangibles -- dedication to the mission, selfless service, putting the mission ahead of individual interests," she said. "If you have a faction that says 'It's about me, me, us, us,' that's inherently divisive."



U.S. Military Holds First Gay Pride Event