{"id":40146,"date":"2014-03-03T16:31:54","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T21:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=40146"},"modified":"2014-03-03T16:31:54","modified_gmt":"2014-03-03T21:31:54","slug":"gay-troops-perform-at-air-base-fundraiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=40146","title":{"rendered":"Gay troops perform at air base fundraiser"},"content":{"rendered":"

OK, I’ve avoided this story for a few days, probably because I’m a homophobe, they’ll say, but my inbox has been filling up with tips about it, so I guess you want to discuss it. According to Stars & Stripes<\/a>, at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, gay troops stationed there, sponsored by OutServe<\/a>, put on a drag show for a fundraiser;<\/p>\n

Amid the unexpected success, OutServe carefully avoided any mention of politics, but its variety show comes at a pivotal time for gay civil rights in the United States, with many states passing laws dealing with marriage or debating individual liberties.<\/p>\n

It is also a sign of the times within the military; just a few years ago, gay and lesbian drag performances on a military base would have been unthinkable and potentially a cause for dismissal from the service.<\/p>\n

The repeals of Don\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell, as well as the Defense of Marriage Act \u2014 the law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages \u2014 have allowed gays and lesbians in the military to be open with their sexuality for the first time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yay! Isn’t that wonderful? I remember the good old days when OutServe and their cohorts at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network told us that they wanted to repeal the Clinton-era Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy so that servicemembers who were gay could serve, that it was all about some imagined “right to serve” in the military. There was no larger agenda, just simply service.<\/p>\n

I only made it about ten seconds through this video, so I don’t blame you if you don’t either.<\/p>\n

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