San Diego Pride officials are proud to announce that active duty service members of the U.S. armed forces have received approval from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and their commanding officers to march in the America’s Pride Parade Military Contingent while wearing their uniforms. Veterans have long been allowed to wear their uniforms and now their active duty brothers and sisters will be able to march in uniform alongside them with Pride.
In a videotaped message released in June (copied below), Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stated: “Before the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ you faithfully served your country with professionalism and courage. And just like your fellow service members, you put your country before yourself. And now—after repeal, you can be proud of serving your country, and be proud of who you are when in uniform.”
In 2011, San Diego made global news as being the first city in the United States to have an active duty military contingent in a Pride Parade. With the theme of America’s Pride, San Diego Pride is looking to continue to break exciting new ground and push forward on issues of equality. Honoring our servicemembers, veterans, and their families is an important part of this message.“The promise of America grounded in the Constitution, contained in our Pledge of Allegiance, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty and enunciated by generations of our nation’s leaders is that America stands for liberty, for justice, for equality for all. This has been America’s Pride,” announced Dwayne Crenshaw, executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride.
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 at America’s Pride in San Diego on July 20 – 22, 2012. So far over 300 individuals have signed up for this one contingent.
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| Dwayne Crenshaw, J.D. |
Service members wanting to walk in the military contingent can register at sdpride.org/military. Registration guarantees a spot in the Military Contingent of America’s Pride Parade and includes a branch specific military t-shirt. You may choose to wear your t-shirt as you walk with us at America’s Pride, but you are very encouraged to wear your uniform and display your Pride!
An informational Military Contingent meeting for the parade will be held Thursday, July 19, at 6:30pm. This will be a 21+ only event at Bourbon Street Bar & Grill, located at 4612 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA.
