Gay rights group pushes for more military changes

"We don't want to be the ones who are the wet blankets of the movement, but at the same time we also want to be the instigators of the movement," Heather Cronk, managing director of Get Equal, said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. "We'll celebrate for 10 minutes and we'll get right back to work."

Protests, rallies and community conversations were planned by Get Equal on Tuesday in about a dozen cities across the country, including Boston, San Francisco and Laramie, Wyo. Nationwide celebrations marking the end of the policy commonly known as "don't ask, don't tell" were also planned by a variety of other groups, including one in downtown Norfolk.

A handful of protesters organized by Get Equal set up near Naval Station Norfolk before dawn with balloons and signs, including one that said "The repeal of DADT is not enough!"

Among other things, protesters want gay marriages recognized at the federal level.

"Gay, lesbian and bisexual service men and women can walk a little taller today and that's a great thing, but there's still so much to do," said Beth Brooker, Get Equal's Virginia leader. "Same sex couples can't live on base together, they don't have medical benefits, they don't have travel allowances, they don't have housing allowances. They don't even have the right to be notified if their partner dies in battle."

The protesters were largely greeted with open signs of support as scores of motorists in civilian and military clothes honked their horns in approval. One female sailor drove by the corner the protesters were set up on and shouted "Yeah!" in approval of them as she gave a fist pump.

There were also signs of disagreement. At least one person shouted out a gay slur as he drove by. Others in uniform grimaced, rolled their eyes and shook their heads as they drove past them.

"It's a great day. This is a day that I've been looking forward to since 1979," said Michael Campbell, a gay 52-year-old former member of the Coast Guard.

Campbell said when he was in the Coast Guard he used to have to hide his military identification sticker on his automobile with that of a radio station anytime he went to a gay bar. He also said there were times when secret signals were given: One bar kept an indoor Christmas tree and turned on the lights to tip off gay military men to quickly find a woman to talk to because outsiders were coming in.

"Those are going to be fun old anecdotes to tell when I get old and I'm in a rocking chair or something. I don't think that applies today," he said.

While military leaders have stressed through training in recent months the need to be respectful, that doesn't always carry over to off-base behavior. It isn't uncommon in this large military community to hear sailors, marines and soldiers who are out of uniform make slurs and jokes at the expense of gay people while out in public.

Brooker said it will take time for some people to change, but the gay rights movement has the momentum.

"You're going to have all these right-wing conservative bigots, quite frankly, who want to call us every name in the book to make themselves feel better about discriminating against us and it just doesn't work. We're not going to give into that," she said.

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