San Diego Pride Fires Back At GOP

"To whom it may concern: The promise of America, grounded in the Constitution, contained in our Pledge of Allegiance, inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, and enunciated by generations of our nation’s leaders, is that America stands for liberty, for justice, for equality for all. This has been America’s Pride. To honor all service members without regard to their sexual orientation is commendable, to pursue the United States’ value of equality is honorable, and to support those actions is genuinely American.

"The mission statement of San Diego LGBT Pride is fostering pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, locally, nationally, and globally. It is with great pride and distinction we pursue that mission, and we were honored to do so last Saturday at San Diego's Pride themed 'America's Pride.' We fully support, agree with, and respect the decision by Defense Secretary Leo Panetta, and hope that this is just another step on the road to equality." - San Diego LGBT Pride executive director Dwayne Crenshaw, via press release.