A San Diego gay couple this week shared
the ceremonial first kiss at a Navy homecoming, making them the
first-ever male gay couple chosen for the honor.
Petty Officer Second Class Thomas
Sawicki returned home from a seven-month deployment.
His boyfriend Shawn Brier waited
nervously as the submarine warship USS San Francisco arrived at Naval
Base Point Loma on Monday afternoon.
“I don't want to screw it up and fall
in the water or something,” Brier told NBC
San Diego.
“Everyone was cheering for me when
they announced it over email,” Sawicki said. “Everyone was very
excited, very supportive, very happy.”
It was the first WestPac deployment for
the couple.
The American Military Partner
Association, which supports LGBT military families, applauded the
choice.
“Since the repeal of the
discriminatory 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law, we've made tremendous
progress as a community and as a nation in our pursuit of liberty and
justice for all Americans,” said Ashley Broadway-Mack, the group's
president. “Although we still have progress to make, moments like
these remind us just how far we've come.”