While the Russia-Ukraine war continues, the US Marines’ choice to honor the first day of ‘Pride Month’ with the publishing of a photo of a helmet with rainbow bullets has enraged many of the military’s opponents.
The US Marines tweeted on Wednesday, “Throughout June, the USMC takes #Pride in recognizing and appreciating the achievements of our LGBTQ service personnel.”
We remain committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination, and defend the values of treating all equally, with dignity and respect,’ the statement further read.
The military branch’s tweet is accompanied by a picture of a standard Marine helmet adorned with six bullets, each a different color from the rainbow flag.
The colors represent LGBTQ pride and social movements. The strap is emblazoned with the words ‘Proud to serve.’
LGBTQ Month is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan – a pivotal turning point for the gay liberation movement in the U.S.
However, many critics of the armed forces were irked by the accommodating attempt.
‘Maybe focus on what’s actually important to the nation’s defense,’ a user called Harri, who has the letters USMC included in his profile’s bio, tweeted. ‘China and Russia are bolstering up their ranks with masculinity understanding it’s necessity, while we seem to be celebrating sexual choices and gender changes in our military.’
‘Is this satire?’ another user asked.
‘Seriously? How does fixating on differences foster cohesion and unity?’ Christina Pushaw, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, shared on the social media platform.
‘What happened to this?’ another user sub-tweeted over a 2013 tweet from the official U.S. Marines account that reads: ”’Locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver and repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat.”’
‘Getting killed by a rainbow bullet is so progressive,’ a different person shared.
Some users noted that the tweet marks a departure from the official U.S. policy on military service by gay men, bisexuals, and lesbians, under the Clinton administration form 1994 until 2011.
The policy banned military personnel from discriminating or harassing closeted servicemembers or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service.
The 20-year policy prohibited people who ‘demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts’ from serving in the U.S. military, because their presence ‘would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability,’ according to Title 10 of the U.S. Code.
In 2011, the Obama administration put an end to the policy and successfully vouched for the Department of Defense to allocate spousal and family benefits to troops in same-sex marriages on the same terms as it does to those in hetero-sex marriages.
Some of the military branch’s followers on social media, however, were quick to praise the Marines’ decision to promote inclusiveness and diversity.
‘From the official USMC account,’ former Marine Terry Jaillet posted. ‘Being gay and testing positive for marijuana were the most frequent reasons for early discharge when I served… progress,’ he added.
‘As a former recon #Marine with multiple combact action ribbons and multi Purple Hearts I applaud your attention to diversity. Ooh Rah!’ a user from Oregon, who goes by Letzelfarm, and who served between 1966 and 1970 tweeted.
Others praised the Marines for promoting inclusivity and diversity within its servicemembers
‘If you seved then you served with someone in the LGBTQ community,’ Jeremy Anderson shared on Twitter. ‘Quit acting like ”that’s not my Corps” bulls***. They have been serving out country since the inception,’ he further shared.
‘Thank you, whoever made this,’ a user who nicknamed himself as ‘worst guy you know’ wrote in his Twitter post.
‘Not sure what everyone is so cranky about…’treating all equally, with dignity and respect’ sounds like a good way to go,’ Palmer Eldritch commented. ‘How does what you do with your junk impact your ability to lug equipment, or weather enemy fire?’ she added.
The Marines’ tweet was pushed out on social media on the first day of ‘Pride Month’ which has been talked about on several occasions by the Biden administration.
‘This month, we honor the resilience of LGBTQI+ people, who are fighting to live authentically and freely,’ Joe Biden said in a speech on May 31 on LGBTQ month.
‘We reaffirm our belief that LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. And we recommit to delivering protections, safety, and equality to LGBTQI+ families so that everyone can realize the full promise of America,’ the President added.
The Department of State also shared two celebratory pride month-related tweets. In one of them, the ‘Progress Flag’, which is the Pride Flag, is flying high over the agency’s Washington D.C. headquarters.