Talk about progress. For the first time in American history, openly gay and lesbian service members were able to bring their partners to the Inaugural Ball.
High-ranking LGBT advocates, including OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director Allyson Robinson and her wife, Danyelle, and OutServe-SLDN's Sue Fulton also attended the ball. Fulton made history when she and her wife Penelope Dara Gneshin, became the first gay couple to marry at the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint.
"Other service members whose advocacy was key to the 2011 repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," also attended, including the highest-ranking openly gay servicemember in the country, Army Brigadier General Tammy Smith, along with her wife Tracey Hepner, Navy Petty Officers Jen Johnston and April Baker, and Air Force Lt. Josh Seefried, who began blogging under a pseudonym for OutServe about his experience as a gay airman serving under DADT.
The Commander-in-Chief's Inaugural Ball was one of only two official inaugural balls held this year, and is open to select members of the military."
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