HomoQuotable - Stephen Benjamin

"Mark Twain wrote in one of his journals that, 'In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.'

Gays and lesbians who serve under the Ban are those patriots. The personal cost can be enormous. Partners and lovers cease to exist, lovers become friends, and genders change in an instant. And to the extreme, fifteen years ago, being a patriot cost PO3 Allen Schindler his life.

Yet despite it all and even while condemned to the shadows: We still serve. As the great Dr. Martin Luther King believed, we also believe. We believe that the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice and that one day, our service will be fully honored. Because, in the end, it comes down to one thing, as former Army officer and current SLDN Board Member Jeff Cleghorn has reminded me of many times: Gay blood bleeds as red as straight." - Former Petty Officer Stephen Benjamin, on the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network blog, which is running a series of posts from ex-military members in honor of Veterans Day.

HomoQuotable - Stephen Benjamin

"As the friends I once served with head off to 15-month deployments, I regret I’m not there to lessen their burden and to serve my country. I’m trained to fight, I speak Arabic and I’m willing to serve. No recruiter needs to make a persuasive argument to sign me up. I’m ready, and I’m waiting." - Arabic translator Stephen Benjamin, fired for being gay, in an essay in the New York Times titled "Don't Ask, Don't Translate." Read his entire piece, it's thoughtful and compelling.