Last night a smattering of peeps gathered at an Iraq War vigil held as part of the USC LGBT Resource Center’s “Together We Win: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” programming for National Coming Out week. The vigil honored the more than 3,807 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq as well as the estimated 65,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans currently serving in the armed forces.
Since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was initiated in 1994, more than 12,000 LGBT troops have been denied the right to serve in the military for refusing to keep mum about their personal lives.
“When you’re in combat, you don’t say, ‘I want straight people behind me. You say, ‘I want friends behind me. I want people I trust,’” said speaker John Paul Karliak of the USC LAMBDA Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association.
Additional photos after the jump.