In July, Secure Freedom Radio aired an interview with Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness, a conservative organization that promotes "sound military personnel policies in the armed forces," according to the group's website. During the interview, Donnelly slammed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), claiming the repeal would undermine and destroy military culture.
Then she said that with the repeal's passing, President Obama now owns "the San Francisco military he has created."
For those who have followed the journey of DADT, the phrase "San Francisco military" is nothing new. Donnelly and her supporters have been dropping the phrase (a reference to a military that allows gay soldiers to serve openly) since before Obama's election in 2008. But with the freshness of the repeal, the phrase has gained a new sting -- and an unfortunate popularity.
The New York Times quoted Donnelly using the phrase in its DADT coverage last week. The Michigan Daily referenced it again in a blog post on September 21.
And on September 16, The Washington Times published an opinion article written by Donnelly. In it, she asked, "How long would a homosexual couple have to be committed to each other to receive benefits? One year, one month – or one night?" She continued, "President Obama made a political promise to LGBT activists, and Defense Department appointees have created a shaky house of cards that is about to collapse. Congress has the right to review regulations defining the president’s San Francisco military…the next president and Congress should resolve to take our military back."
While the credibility of Donnelly and the Center for Military Readiness has certainly been questioned in the past, the recent popularity of her "San Francisco military" has struck a delicate chord in the Bay Area, and brought to light some of the alarming stereotypes associated with both San Francisco and the gay community.
On Sunday, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Carl Nolte asked what exactly the term "San Francisco Military" means. Nolte, an Army veteran, wrote: "The implication is clear: In Donnelly's view, 'the San Francisco military' is a code that stands for something unsavory, something dishonorable."
Nolte interviewed J. Michael Myatt, a retired Marine Corps major general and chairman of the San Francisco Fleet Week committee, who considered the term an "insult to San Francisco."
"San Francisco citizens have served in every war," Myatt said. He also noted that thousands have paid the ultimate price for their service. Nolte pointed out the rows of military graves lining the hills of the Presidio as evidence.
Some opponents argue that the use of that phrase also suggests that homosexuality comes only from San Francisco. Stephen Noetzel, a commissioner on the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commission who served as a Green Beret in Vietnam, told The Huffington Post that the term isn't as offensive as it is "woefully misinformed."
"I knew plenty of gay soldiers in Vietnam, and yes, there are gay Green Berets," he told HuffPost. "And I challenge anyone to show me a statistic that suggests the mixture of gay and straight soldiers is one iota different than anywhere else in the country. It's the same everywhere, and that includes all of the conservative areas of the country, too."
Noetzel argued his point not to downplay San Francisco's rich variety of sexual affiliations, but to make the point that differences in sexuality are, and always have been, present everywhere. Such is evident by recent stories like the YouTube sensation of the Alabama-born gay man who came out to his father hours after the repeal took effect. But Donnelly and others are certainly not criticizing our "Alabama military."
Donnelly may be using her phrase differently than her critics suggest. But for San Francisco, Donnelly's argument opens up an old wound: the implication that those with different ideas and experiences couldn't possibly be fit to make a difference in our country.