Metro Weekly

Gay soldier speaks frankly about Republican September debate boos

“When the actual booing occurred, my gut dropped out, because my first inclination was, did I just do something wrong?… [But] this is not about sex. A special privilege is not hiding pictures in my house or God forbid, taking mortar fire again and not knowing if Josh will be recognized. I‘m fighting every day to protect everyone’s rights as human beings, and it seems counterintuitive for me to be fighting for those rights and not have them.

Army Capt. Stephen Hill, in an interview with the Associated Press, publicly reflecting on his question to the GOP candidates in a Sept. 22 debate. In a YouTube video prerecorded in Iraq, Hill if the candidates would reinstate the ban on gays serving openly in the military. The question prompted boos from the audience, while candidate Rick Santorum’s answer — “What we are doing is playing social experimentation with our military right now. That’s tragic. Leave it alone. Keep it to yourself whether you are heterosexual or homosexual.” — generated applause. (Associated Press)

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