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Starchild: Well, he’s a hero. He exposed things that the government shouldn’t be trying to keep a secret. I mean Obama promised us the most transparent administration in history, and he’s delivered just the opposite. I wanted to come and promote him. He’s the people’s grand marshal.
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Y’know, as time goes on I've become less and less in favor of having any sort of military at all. At this point I feel like the biggest threat to my personal well-being—as well as the well-being of everybody in the United States—is the US government.---

I’m just really cynical about gays serving in the military. It's like, OK, great, now your community has equal rights to kill brown people as everyone else.What about the meaning behind the military’s attempts to include the community? Is that irrelevant?
That’s typical pink-washing. Trying to downplay the military’s negative action by saying they’re treating the gay community well. It’s like when Israel says “look at how the Palestinians treat their gays,” you have the face of imperialism putting forth an alleged LGBT friendliness as a cover for the hideousness and vitriol and violence and everything they stand for.
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I don’t know… I hope so.---At that, Jeremy apologized and told us he had to go find “something," and so we continued our search for the National Guard.


Michelangelo: They finally got somebody out here, huh? I’m bisexual, man. I was in the Marine Corps for eight years and I didn’t say nothing there. I wanted to be a Marine. I mean they were pressured by the government and the people to change the program just like the Boy Scouts. And everybody, sooner or later, is gonna have to give in.Is that a bad thing?
I think this is just a way to find out if you are gay, and they’ll just put you in a place where they want to put you. I think we were better off with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. That way nobody knows, and you don’t get bothered. Most guys who go into the Marine Corps are macho guys, and I think it’ll be like that for a long time. When I was a kid me and my brother used to go out into the Castro district and harass the gay men. But back then I couldn’t understand why I was the way I was… hell, back then I was a pretty good looking guy. Women loved my ass! But you know, I also liked being with men and didn’t understand why until I got older. I’m what they’d call a butch gay male, I guess. Just like Caesar Romero.
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Martin: The response has been overwhelmingly positive. To be honest, there were some apprehensions at first—what it would be like pursuing this demographic—but what has been surprising is the overwhelming amount of leads we’ve been able to secure. If we set up a booth at a NASCAR event, or say a Raiders football game, we might get one or two who legitimately want to become National Guardsmen. We’re really out there to promote our brand. Here, we’ve already gotten 20.Wow.
Yeah, we did this in LA too and got 30 to 40. That’s probably because it’s a new demographic, but we’re happy.
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What we’re trying to pursue is getting a message out there that we’re not only following the rules, but we’re actually embracing diversity, not just with sexual orientation, but across the board.Have recruiting tactics changed at all to target the LGBT community?
Not so much, no. We want people to realize that those particular demographics are not going to hold them back if they have the skill and desire to serve. We welcome them, both in the National Guard and the military as a whole.Has there been any backlash?
In Los Angeles, I didn’t hear one negative response the whole time. Here, I know the PFC Bradley Manning supporters swung by our booth, but they were very cordial. I mean the fact that they’re even here, that they’re able to openly talk about something that’s controversial, is really a testimony to what we do. So we’re OK with that.A big controversy since the repeal of DADT is that transgendered members of the LGBTQ community still cannot serve. Do you think that will ever change?
That one’s in flux, and it's really up to the government. From what I understand, they’re basically wrestling with that one, because it’s a medical issue and it is a biological issue. We’re just waiting on word from up top.
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Yes, we’ve already received guidance that in the next several weeks we’ll receive same sex benefits. In fact, if a same sex spouse wants to be buried in Arlington, or other military cemeteries, they’ll have the right to do so.@jules_suFor more Pride coverage:Protesting Against Gay Pride Was Super BoringThe Perils of Staging a Gay Pride March in UkraineThings I Hate About Gay Pride Day