Gay military members come out and celebrate

When Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Mills woke up Tuesday, he posted a pointed message on his Facebook page about the secret he has kept since he joined the military seven years ago.

“I. Am. Gay. That is all. … as you were,” he wrote.

Thus did Mills, 27, mark a milestone — the day America’s ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military ended.

Photos: Faces of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

“When I woke up this morning I felt extremely relieved and very free,” said Mills, who is stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. “Free to be able to live openly without worrying what I say or do will affect my career.”

After years of bitter debate, and generations of military tradition, repeal of the 18-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” law went into effect at 12:01 a.m. For the first time, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were free to declare their sexual orientation without risking being thrown out of the military. And many rushed to do so.

The result, for supporters, at least, was an outpouring of euphoria and relief that some compared to the end of racial segregation in the military in the 1950s or the admittance of women to the service academies in the 1970s. Supporters planned celebrations in all 50 states.

“It’s a huge burden lifted from my shoulders and the 65,000 other gay and lesbian and bisexual troops out there serving in the military right now,” Air Force Lt. Josh Seefried said at a news conference at the Capitol with senators who sponsored repeal of the law. “Today and every day I can go back into work … and not have to worry anymore.”

It was the first time that Seefried, who has used the pseudonym J.D. Smith to secretly run a support group for gays in the military, had identified himself as gay in public. He was joined by a Marine captain and an Air Force staff sergeant who also came out for the first time.

President Obama pushed the repeal through Congress in December, but its enactment was delayed so the Pentagon could train more than 2 million service members in standards of conduct related to the change. The delay also allowed the Pentagon to certify that the new policy would not harm military readiness, unit cohesion or recruiting and retention of service members.

“As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

Legal and cultural challenges are likely to continue because U.S. law bars the Pentagon from offering same-sex couples the same health, housing and education benefits as heterosexual couples.

In particular, the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits giving federal benefits to same-sex couples, and a separate federal statute for the armed forces defines a spouse as a “husband” or a “wife.”

Moreover, unlike women and minorities, gays and lesbians are not recognized under law as a “protected class,” which would allow them to file formal complaints of employment discrimination. Pentagon officials have said that discrimination complaints related to sexual orientation can be raised up the chain of command or with the inspector general.

But other changes clearly are coming.

Same-sex couples will be able to appear together at official functions and live together openly, though not in military housing.

Recruiters can sign up gay recruits, and many of the more than 14,000 gay service members who were forced out under the former policy in recent years can try to reenlist, although the Pentagon says they will receive no preferential treatment.

In California, former Marine Capt. Kristen Kavanaugh, 31, hopes to join the Navy four years after she left the Marines. She had served in Iraq, but could no longer stand the pressure of hiding her sexuality.

“The turning point was Iraq,” said Kavanaugh, now a graduate student at USC. “Everyone else could call their loved one and talk openly. I had to guard my words and only talk in general terms. It was awful having to live like that.”

Former Navy Chief Petty Officer Jeremy Johnson told his commander about his sexual orientation four years ago and was quickly discharged. Now a student outside Baltimore, he plans to reenlist in the reserves next weekend, and the officer who kicked him out has agreed to administer the oath.

“I never wanted to get out in the first place, and this is a way for us to put this behind us,” Johnson said.

Former Air Force Sgt. David Hall has an appointment with a recruiter Thursday. Hall, who spent five years on active duty loading bombs and missiles on fighter planes, was kicked out of the Air Force for “homosexual conduct” in 2002.

It killed his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot. Now 37, he’s too old for flight school. He hopes to resume his military career in the Air Force Reserve.

Under the new policy, Hall’s discharge for being gay will be expunged, at least as far as his qualifications to serve are concerned. His “RE-4” discharge code, which would normally make him ineligible to reenlist, will be waived, he said.

“It’s an exciting day,” Hall said.

Army Maj. Casey Moes, 34, who serves with the military police corps at Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas, said the repeal allowed her to align her values with those of the Army, most notably the values of respect and honesty.

“I pride myself on adhering to the Army values,” Moes said. “Before the repeal, it was tough because you had to limit what you said — so you weren’t truly lying, but you never fully told the truth either.”

Moes said the biggest benefit of the repeal was finally being able to acknowledge her fiancee, Laurie Morano, her partner of three years.

“I now get to talk to my friends and colleagues at work about the other half of my life and give the full respect to her and the support she gives to me as both a military officer and a person,” Moes said.

In Tulsa, Okla., three Marine recruiters showed up at a lunch sponsored by the nonprofit Oklahomans for Equality. The recruiters mingled with World War II and Korean veterans, and Marine Master Sgt. Anthony Henry, 37, set up the display he takes to career fairs.

Four young people approached, and he questioned each on the spot. Each had been disqualified — not because of their sexuality, Henry said, but for medical or educational reasons. One woman needed a high school diploma, for example. Henry encouraged her to get it and apply again.

“It was an opportunity for the Marine Corps to reach a part of our population that we previously didn’t have access to,” said Henry, who has served in the Marines for 19 years. “My personal position is if you can make it through our boot camp, good on you. They ought to have the right to serve.”

In El Paso, veterans and service members, mostly soldiers, gathered Monday night at a local bar for a pre-repeal celebration.

“It’s an end of discrimination,” said Daniel Rollings, a former soldier and president of the local chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. “Hopefully it will also be an end to harassment.”

Texas is home to some of the nation’s largest military bases and facilities, and gay service members still face a long road to acceptance, he said.

“It will be harder to accept,” Rollings added. “Texas is a pretty conservative state.”

Photos: Faces of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

david.cloud@latimes.com

david.zucchino@latimes.com

Cloud reported from Washington and Zucchino from Raleigh. Times staff writers Stephen Ceasar in Los Angeles, Tony Perry in San Diego, Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Houston, Kim Murphy in Seattle and special correspondent Martin Richter in Washington contributed to this report.