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"The fight for equality is not over, and it is not easy, but this is a giant leap in the right direction."īefore Thursday, several service members wanting to participate in San Diego's parade were told they could not do so in uniform. "San Diego Pride is honored to have the privilege of celebrating our country and our service members with dignity and respect," he said. San Diego Pride Executive Director Dwayne Crenshaw called it an historic moment. "I think across the country we will start seeing active-duty members in uniform march in pride parades," Sala said.
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Uniformed soldiers in those countries have marched down the streets of Toronto and London next to scantily clad men, drag queens and civil rights activists. military sanction participation in a gay pride parade, as the armed forces have done in Canada and Great Britain. He said he has reached his dream in seeing the U.S. Sala believes there will be no going back after Saturday.
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The Defense Department policy says personnel cannot march in parades in uniform unless they receive approval from their commanding officers or other Pentagon-approved authorities. Military personnel wearing civilian clothes do not need permission to march in any parades. The Pentagon said the allowance is only for this year's parade in San Diego and does not extend beyond that. "My soul is on fire," he said after hearing the news Thursday. About 200 service members last year wore T-shirts with their branch's name.įormer sailor Sean Sala, who organized the military's participation in the parade, said he wanted service members to wear their official uniform this year to show there is no longer anything to hide. Last year, San Diego's gay pride parade had the nation's largest contingency of active-duty troops participate before the military lifted its ban on openly gay service members. government for the first time in marking June as gay pride month and made an official salute to gay and lesbian service members.ĭefense Secretary Leon Panetta vowed in a video message to remove as many barriers as possible to making the military a model of equal opportunity and said gays and lesbians can be proud in uniform with the repeal last year of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. The move came only weeks after the Pentagon joined the rest of the U.S. The Defense Department said it did so because organizers had encouraged military personnel to march in their uniform and the event was getting national attention. In a memorandum sent to all its branches, the department said it was making the allowance for San Diego's gay pride parade on Saturday even though its policy generally bars troops from marching in uniform in parades. (AP) - The Defense Department on Thursday announced it is allowing service members to march in uniform in a gay pride parade for the first time in U.S.