October 17, 2011
Active Duty Gays Say Coming Out Has Been Non-Event
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Service members attending the first-ever convention for gay military personnel say they have received nothing but support or shrugs since coming out at work.
Nearly four weeks after the U.S. lifted its ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, 200 members of a group known as OutServe are attending the conference in Las Vegas.
They say they are relieved they no longer have to hide, but they are determined to make sure they are viewed as sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines first, gay second.
Michelle Benecke is a former Army battery commander who left the military before "don't ask, don't tell" was enacted. He says gay Americans serving their country with pride are "the right-wing's biggest fear" because they counter stereotypes that gay men and lesbians are selfish.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
