Army General Introduces His Husband At Major Military Conference

There was a moment this week that many thought they would never see. Brig. Gen. Randy S. Taylor rose to address a major conference and introducing his spouse. However in this case his spouse was his husband Lucas who was sitting in the same row with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter Army Secretary John McHugh and other senior officials. Taylor has served 27 years through the ban on gays, the “don’t ask don’t tell policy,” and now the new policy of openness. He and Lucas have had an 18-year relationship.

Taylor discussed the sacrifices that Lucas made for his career and how they both bet everything on the Army. The bet paid off.

This week also saw the adoption of a new policy barring discrimination against members of the U.S. military based on their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation now joins discrimination based on race, gender and other protected categories.

The event itself is notable as the Pentagon’s 4th Gay Pride celebration that featured a gay Marine officer, a gay Army sergeant who is a criminal investigator, a lesbian chaplain and a transgender, Amanda Simpson, who is executive director of the Army’s Office of Energy Initiatives.

Carter set the perfect tone and told the crowd that “We need to be a meritocracy.” Indeed, our military will only stay competitive if we take the best and brightest from our ranks. Many gay and lesbian citizens have answered that call throughout history and they have now achieved true equal status with their peers in service.

Source: Washington Times