An homecoming kiss between Marine
Sargent Brandon Morgan and his partner Dalan Wells is being
criticized as making the military look “ridiculous.”
Upon arriving home from a six-month
deployment in Afghanistan, Morgan was met on the tarmac by his
boyfriend, Wells, an artist. A photo of Morgan leaping into Wells'
arms for a kiss made national headlines.
The kiss wouldn't have been possible
only last year, before the military repealed its “Don't Ask, Don't
Tell” policy which barred gay and bisexual troops from serving
openly.
(Related: Brandon
Morgan, Dalan Wells say kiss photo could help struggling gay teens.)
Elaine Donnelly of the Center for
Military Readiness, a group opposed to gay troops serving in the
military, has suggested that military officials coerced opponents not
to criticize the couple.
“Not one of those people, Marines or
their families, was in a position to state freely what they felt,”
Donnelly told WorldNetDaily.com.
Donnelly also criticized a Marine Corps
Base Hawaii spokeswoman's statement describing the kiss as “your
typical homecoming photo.”
“This demonstrates just how fragile
the culture of the military is,” she said. “Here she is speaking
officially for the Marine Corps. Her statement reflects a cultural
reversal.”
The spokeswoman “knows this is not a
truthful statement.”
Donnelly also reiterated her claim that
the Obama Administration manipulated data to convince Congress to
overturn the law.
“Contrary to most news accounts, the
Comprehensive Review Working Group process was not a study,” she
said. “Its purpose was to circumvent and neutralize military
opposition to repeal of the law.”