US Military Allows Uniforms in Gay Pride Parade

     Active duty members in all branches of the military were allowed to don their uniforms while marching in the San Diego Pride Parade yesterday. This is the first time that the military has granted such permissions since the September repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) policy, under which gay individuals could only serve in the military if they did not divulge their sexual orientation. The move came after San Diego Pride Parade organizers announced this year's parade theme, America's Pride: Equality is an American Value. According to an article posted on Aljazeera more than 400 military members signed up to march in the parade prior to the military's announcement. While an official report is not yet available, organizers believed that this number would increase after the allowance was made public.

     The approval was given by Rene Bardorf, the deputy assistant secretary of defence for community and public Outreach. "It is our understanding that event organizers plan to have a portion of the parade dedicated to military members. We further understand organizers are encouraging service members to seek their commander's approval to march in uniform and to display their pride," Bardorf wrote in an internal memo. Citing national media attention, Bardorf granted permission for service members to participate, but limited that approval to yesterday's San Diego Pride Parade, according to the Aljazeera story.

Previously only armed service veterans were allowed to wear their uniforms at  pride parades, not those on duty. (Getty)

     Prior to this year, only retired armed service veterans, not those in active duty, were allowed to wear their uniforms in gay pride parades. Fernando Lopez, the director for public affairs for San Diego LGBT pride, said that commanders could give permission to individuals to participate but this is the first time such a blanket statement was given to those serving in the military. 

     The Guardian posted a story today discussing the impact of the permission on the LGBT military community. "Today is so important," said navy lieutenant, Brian McKinney, who marched with his partner, Hunter Hammonds, in Saturday's parade. "It's about putting on my uniform and taking pride in my service, my fellow service members, my family and myself. It's something I'm incredibly thankful for." This sentiment is matched by Commander Kent Blade, who will retire this fall after 26 years in the navy. Blade told the Guardian that being able march in uniform was a "perfect culmination of his career." 

The US defence department relaxed its ban on wearing uniforms in parades because San Diego organizers had encouraged personnel to march in their uniforms. (David Maung / EPA)

     The military's permission to allow uniforms in the gay pride parade is another victory for the LGBT community after the repeal of the DADT policy, a law which has been in effect for almost 18 years. The law banned openly gay Americans from serving in the armed forces and meant that those currently in active duty had to hide their sexual orientation or be discharged. According to Title 10 of the United States Code the policy prohibited people who 'demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts' from serving in the armed forces, because their presence 'would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." 

Obama signs the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.

     The 'Don't Ask' provision of the law stated that the military or appointed officials could not ask service members to reveal their sexual orientation. The 'Don't Tell' states that a member may be discharged for claiming to be homosexual or bisexual or making a statement indicating a tendency towards or intent to engage in homosexual activities. The law was contested on a number of occasions, and rightfully so. An example of this is the 2006 Witt v. Department of the Air Force, in which Margaret Witt filed a suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that DADT violates substantive due process, the Equal Protection Clause, and procedural due process.

     NPR posted an interview they conducted in September 2011 with Aaron Belkin, a political science professor, and Air Force 1st Lt. Josh Seefried, co-founder of OutServe, a Facebook-based network for gay Americans actively serving in duty. Belkin helped lead research and analysis of gay Americans in the military and of the effect of DADT on military capabilities. His e-book, How We Won: Progressive Lessons from the Repeal of "Don' Ask, Don't Tell", detailed the research, how it communicated with the military from the inside, and its deliberative media strategy. According the the NPR story Belkin believes that it was an accumulation of evidence that brought down the DADT policy.

A female sailor from USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) kisses her fiancée following the ships return to homeport after a three-month deployment in the Caribbean, December 2011. 

     While the repeal of the DADT law was a step in the right direction there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. Realizing equal rights for the LGBT community is a complicated process which requires large changes to happen in society. A survey posted on the Army Times website shows that the repeal has less of an impact than expected. The poll was conducted by the Military Times and reported that 59 per cent of active-duty respondents said they did not believe they would be affected by the repeal. In fact 69 per cent said that in the last year they had felt no impact from the repeal. The report says that one reason for the underwhelming results could be that there haven't been a large number of those in active duty coming out. "Only one solider has come out of the closet at work since the repeal," Military Times reported. "The rest either said their unit members knew about their orientation before repeal, or they continue to keep their orientation private."

Findings from the Military Times poll indicate that many active-duty respondents were unaffected by the repeal.

If you are interested in more information about this topic or are looking for support click the links below:

Out Military

OutServe

Freedom to Serve: The Definitive Guide to LGBT Military Service

U.S. Department of Defence