Of course. The minds at SF Pride have now decided that it would be a good idea to host military recruiters at this year's San Francisco Pride fete at Civic Center. "Organizers of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade throw a party where everyone is welcome," The Chronicle reports. "Now, for the first time, military recruiters will join the crowd."
More:
The California National Guard will set up two recruiting booths at this weekend's event, which organizers predict will draw 1 million people to San Francisco.The presence of the uniformed recruiters will mark the first time the military has participated in the city's largest gay-rights celebration. It's a change enabled by the Obama administration's 2011 repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, permitting gays and lesbians to serve openly in military ranks.
"At the end of the day, we're a community-based organization, too," said Capt. Shannon Terry, public affairs officer for the California National Guard. "So we need to look like our community."
While we're all for a salad bowl of LGBT ilk, this decision sure does comes as a smack in the face of those who so strongly opposed our local Pride rulers this year. San Francisco Pride, if you recall, backtracked on the appointment of Bradley Manning, a championed gay whistleblower in the U.S. military, earlier this year. The shunning of Manning has divided the local queer community, even prompting a former District 8 Supervisor to step down as grand marshal in response
Also of note? Rape and sexual assault in the military have reached epidemic heights this year.
