Military Now Appearing in Uniform in Gay Pride Parade

It didn’t stop with repealing “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” 

Now the gay community has won another victory in its attempt to reshape the military. For the first time, the Department of Defense is letting active members of the armed forces wear their uniforms in a Gay Pride parade.  The event in question is the 2012 San Diego Pride Parade, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Community and Public Outreach Rene Bardorf approved the idea in a memo, saying:

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 referred to national media attention that has focused on the issue in her decision. Now almost 400 military members have already signed up to march.

The parade’s organizer, San Diego LGBT Pride, released a statement:

We are hopeful that those who have feared coming to share in the joy of Pride out of concern for losing their military careers will be able to finally celebrate their full and complete selves.

Here’s the kicker: in a second internal memo, Bardorf said that for parades other than the San Diego event, local commanders are given discretion in who is allowed to participate unless it is “likely to garner national or international interest or news coverage.”

So the standards of the U.S. military are now subject to pressure from the media. How very fitting from the Obama Administration, which controls the media narrative anyway, to use that collaboration to advance values that are contrary to traditional American values. It should be interesting to see a Marine marching next to members of men wearing assless chaps.