Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley has retired; President Obama has not yet nominated a replacement.  Under Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning, who was sworn in just weeks ago, has been elevated to Acting Secretary.

As is often repeated by the press each time this is mentioned, Acting Secretary Fanning is openly homosexual.

Fanning, who is openly gay, takes over at the Air Force just as the Supreme Court is set to rule on the Defense of Marriage Act, which blocks same-sex couples from receiving the same benefits as heterosexual couples.

In an interview with “leading gay news source” the Washington Blade, Acting Secretary Fanning called the Defense of Marriage Act a “terrible law.”

“DOMA, which I think is a terrible law, made the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ easier because it took some of the more emotional issues off the table…I think everyone who serves in uniform should have full access to legal benefits, and so, DOMA is the main roadblock to that.”

As described in the article, after expressing his opposition to the law, Secretary Fanning described his support for “LGBT advocacy” — in his personal capacity:

Fanning also said he supports other outstanding initiatives sought by advocates — in particular the LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN —…while emphasizing he was speaking in a personal capacity in support of those ideas…

“Speaking personally, I always think it’s important to have non-discrimination policies codified to include everyone…The military, because it has a chain of command, has a different attitude about this…— but Eric Fanning? Yes. I personally like to see these things in writing and codified.”

The qualifiers were an acknowledgement that the Secretary of the Air Force may not be able to make official statements regarding such homosexual advocacy contrary to the law, though the ‘private citizen’ in that position can still do so.  That’s not too much unlike the military rules that say military members cannot do certain things in their official capacity, but can exercise their rights as private citizens when they are off duty.

The article also notes Acting Secretary Fanning supports service by “transgender” individuals, who are still currently prohibited from serving, despite the repeal of DADT and the advent of a new ‘sexual liberty.’

In a related story, at a homosexual pride month event at the Pentagon, Fanning “recount[ed] [his] journey to equality.”  At that event, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said

“Our nation has always benefited from the service of gay and lesbian soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.”

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