Our Year in Review – April ‘11-‘12
The loathsome “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy was finally abolished in September, nine months after President Obama signed legislation that would allow openly gay personnel to serve in the armed forces. Some gay and lesbian service members couldn’t wait to say ‘sayonara’ to DADT’s draconian restrictions. In December, Fire Controlman 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta was the first to kiss her fiancée, Fire Controlman 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, in a U.S. Navy homecoming ceremony in Virginia Beach, VA. In Navy tradition, one sailor is chosen by raffle to be the first off the ship to kiss a loved one—and Gaeta’s and Snell’s was the first same-sex smooch in military history.
A kiss is still a kiss—but what a kiss it was! When a female naval officer smooched her fiancee during a military homecoming ritual, it indelibly marked the true and final end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The victories of the past year seemed to come fast and furious: New York finally legalizing same-sex marriage along with Maryland and Washington State; Chaz Bono busting a move as Dancing with the Stars’ first transgender contestant; the snowballing Occupy Wall Street movement demanding justice for the hardworking 99 percent. Even great tragedy, and the still-raw memories of America’s worst terrorist attack, failed to slow the rekindling of our optimism. (And if you want more proof, see GO’s landmark Tenth Anniversary issue this September!)
SEE YOU IN HELL
It was a bad year to be a dictator: mercenary warlords were dropping like flies from Asia to Africa. In May, President Obama stunned Americans when he announced that U.S. Navy SEALs had captured and killed Osama bin Laden in a daring covert raid on his compound in Pakistan. The revelation sparked spontaneous celebrations in Times Square and at Ground Zero, with jubilant crowds shouting “USA! USA!” The al Qaeda mastermind was unceremoniously buried at sea somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Then, anti-government rebels captured and killed Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi during the North African nation’s civil war. Finally, the mysterious “dear leader” of secretive North Korea, Kim Jong-il, died in December of a suspected heart attack. The cause of death was obscured by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, but that didn’t stop thousands of mourners from lining the funeral route and weeping hysterically for days.
