(MintPress) – Earlier in the week when the Pentagon hosted its first gay pride event for military members, it came at a time when attitudes toward same-sex marriage have progressively softened across the country. It also marked the first celebratory event of gays openly serving in the military since President Barack Obama lifted the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban and coming out in favor of same-sex couples in America.
The event highlighted the changes in attitudes and cultural acceptance within the military. Prior to the passage of “don’t ask, don’t tell”, homosexual military members were often ostracized from units and risked being fired for making their sexual orientation known. But Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said critics of the ban’s lift approached him with concerns of troop morale, cohesion and readiness.
In May, Panetta expressed that the policy change was “going very well” and that “the military has moved beyond it.”
At the Pentagon’s gay pride event, openly gay service member Capt. Matthew Phelps recalled serving with the military both before and after the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban was lifted.
“By virtue of the fact that I wasn’t allowed to say anything, I was actually growing more distant from my unit,” Phelps told the Washington Times. “We hear people talk about unit cohesion and how is the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ going to affect unit cohesion. I would argue it got better.”
The ban’s lift was followed by an attitude change toward same-sex marriage as a whole in the country as well as Obama announcing his public support for gay couples. In May, when Obama proclaimed his belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to wed, he expressed fears of how those with high religious beliefs would respond and noted that the only thing holding him back from supporting the cause throughout the years was his notion that civil unions would be sufficient enough.
“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama said. “I was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people, the word marriage was something that invokes very powerful traditions and religious beliefs.”
The increased dialogue appeared to soften Americans’ stance on same-sex rights. Gallup announced two weeks after Obama’s endorsement for same-sex marriage that, for the first time, its polling showed a majority of Americans supported the measure.
In Maryland, black voters, a demographic traditionally opposed to gay marriage, did an about-face after Obama’s announcement. Prior to the announcement, 39 percent of Maryland’s black voters said they would vote in favor of gay rights. After Obama’s proclamation, that number quickly jumped to 55 percent.
Obama also saw a dramatic influx of fundraising, seeing his donations nearly triple shortly after the announcement.
“People who may have sat on the sidelines are now coming out in full force as a result of the president’s and the administration’s support for marriage equality,” gay philanthropist and political activist David Bohnett told NPR. “There’s no question about that.”
But opposition and push back from anti-gay groups has been persistent. Yet, the groups have also developed a change in philosophy. This weekend, Exodus International will hold its annual conference in Minneapolis. The group has received notoriety for implementing “ex-gay,” “reparative” or “conversation” therapy for homosexuals. It touts itself as the “world’s largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality.”
The organization’s president, Alan Chambers, recently moved his organization away from reparative therapy tactics after one of the organizations proponents denounced the methods. Psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, who published a study in 2001 that suggested “reparative” therapy could work, said it was a waste of time and energy to implement such therapeutic tactics and that he apologized for the study.
Chambers said his organization is still vehemently against homosexuality, but that it will serve more as a political activist organization and less as a clinic for “ex-gay” therapy.
“I do not believe that cure is a word that is applicable to really any struggle, homosexuality included,” Chambers said. “For someone to put out a shingle and say, ‘I can cure homosexuality’ — that to me is as bizarre as someone saying they can cure any other common temptation or struggle that anyone faces on Planet Earth.”