First openly gay Army secretary now serving in U.S. - from TRUNEWS

(TRUNEWS) The first openly gay Army secretary is now serving the U.S., after being nominated by the Obama administration.

Eric Fanning was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday. He is the first in any branch of the military, as reported by NBC News.  It comes five years after “don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed, a directive which prohibited homosexuals serving in the military from being open about their sexual preferences.

Gay rights groups are applauding.

“Eric Fanning’s historic confirmation today as Secretary of the U.S. Army is a demonstration of the continued progress towards fairness and equality in our nation’s armed forces,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement.

Previously, Fanning was the Army secretary’s principal adviser on management and operation.

The nomination took a long time. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) lead the charge to oppose the approval over a dispute with President Obama in the closing of Guantanamo Bay and transferring the prisoners to Leavenworth, as reported by TRUNEWS.  After Roberts was told the detainees would not be moved to Kansas, he dropped his action to block the vote.

Fanning was nominated eight months ago.

Democrats seem more concerned about the confirmation being “an historic moment for LGBT service members”, according to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who tweeted about his excitement at Fanning’s approval.

In the past few days, the Obama administration has also announced other staff members who are transgender, being appointed to top positions.

Barbara Satin will now serve on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-based Neighborhood Partnerships.  She is an active member of the United Church of Christ.

The new White House LGBT liaison has also been named. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is a Jewish Latina transgender woman who will deal with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.

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