Gay Marine Rocks the U.S. Military

Gay Marine Rocks the U.S. Military

Staff Sgt. Eric Alva lost his leg nearly four years ago when he stepped on a land mine in the desert in Kuwait. He was the first U.S. Marine to be seriously wounded in the Iraq conflict.

In Bethesda Naval Hospital, Alva was visited by President Bush and Laura Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-basketball player Michael Jordan.

As the first Marine to be injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Alva became a household name. He was a guest on "Oprah" and was awarded a Purple Heart. Unsurprisingly, his good looks and polite charm made him a poster boy for military bravery and inspiring patriotism.

The opportunistic, media-savvy establishment figures queuing up for their photo ops were unaware of one crucial fact in this story — the 5'1" Latino from San Antonio just happens to be gay.

Alva was aware of his sexuality when he enlisted aged 19 in 1990, and admits to lying on his application when asked about his sexual orientation. However, Alva's wish to serve his country proved stronger than fears regarding sexual honesty…

Already a hero on many levels, Alva is about to use his unique place in history to create waves of a different kind. He came out at a Wednesday news conference on Capitol Hill, where he called for the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the service to be abandoned.

"I'm an American who fought for his country and for the protection and the rights and freedoms of all American citizens — not just some of them, but all of them," Alva said.

He now plans to work with the Human Rights Campaign as it renews its efforts to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," which bars lesbians and gay men from serving openly in the armed forces.

Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., introduced a bill on Wednesday backed by more than 100 other House members to repeal the 13-year-old policy. A companion Senate bill is expected later this year.

"We know that there's no place in this country for discrimination, whether it's based on race, creed or sexual orientation," Meehan said. "And there's no place for institutional discrimination codified in the federal statutes."

Though progress on this issue is likely to be painfully slow, there's a sliver of hope because Democrats are now controlling the agenda and Meehan now chairs a key subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman is Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is also gay. Lawmakers are at least confident that the bill will get a hearing this year.

"It will still be an uphill climb," Meehan said, "but the November election can mean only good things."

So far, only three Republicans have come out in support of the measure, and conservative groups are unsurprisingly resistant to the idea, spouting opinions rather than facts.

"No matter how times have changed, homosexuals in the military still threaten unit cohesion," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, "and putting tolerance ahead of the military's mission is bad policy."

Alva told the Washington Post: "The truth is, something's wrong with this ban. I have to say something. I mean, you're asking men and women to lie about their orientation, to keep their personal lives private, so they can defend the rights and freedoms of others in this country, and be told, 'Well, oh, yeah, if you ever decide to really meet someone of the same sex and you want the same rights, sorry, buddy, you don't have the right.'

"That's one factor. The other factor is, we're losing probably thousands of men and women that are skilled at certain types of jobs, from air traffic controllers to linguists, because of this broken policy." (Stewart Who?, Gay.com U.K.)

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