Remembering an Openly Gay “Rising Star in Our Navy”
July 9, 2009
On June 30th Navy Seaman August Provost was found shot to death and his guard shack burned at Camp Pendleton, a Marine base in the San Diego area.
August Provost was a 29-year-old African American gay man. Provost’s boyfriend, Kaether Cordero, and family members recount that he had recently been harassed about his sexual orientation. The family and his boyfriend believe Provost was killed for being gay and because of his race.
August Provost
The Navy has a suspect in custody, and believes the murder was simply a random act of violence.
Provost’s murder raises questions about the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and how effective the investigation can be with such a policy in place. Rose Roy, Provost’s aunt, said that the policy discouraged Provost from reporting the harassment he was facing in the Navy.
Several members of Congress have called for a full-scale investigation into what happened to Provost. The Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, who represents an area near the base where Provost was killed, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) has called for an investigation. He was joined this week by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who represents Houston where August Provost lived before joining the military.
August Provost’s story has gained widespread media attention, from CNN, MSNBC, the Huffington Post, Fox News, the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press, among others. As the investigations move forward and Provost’s accused murderer is charged and tried for his brutal death, the story will certainly continue to gain media attention.
GLAAD will ensure that the media recognize and remember August Provost both as a “rising star in our Navy” as described by a Navy spokesman, as well as a gay man his family and boyfriend loved very much. If it’s true that Provost couldn’t notify military personnel about his ongoing harrassment, his story will become an all-too-tragic example of why LGBT advocates, high-ranking military officials and many in Congress are arguing for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
**Editor’s Note: Many media accounts attribute statements to Provost’s family and boyfriend saying he was gay. Other stories report that the family says Provost was bisexual. It is unclear how Provost personally identified. At the end of the day, whether Provost was bisexual or gay, he was a victim of tragic violence that those who knew him are sure was a result of intolerance about his sexual orientation
Related Posts:Marches and Rallies Take Place Across the Country in Response to Prop 8 Decision
May 27, 2009
Across the country, LGBT people and allies gathered in rallies and marches in repsonse to the California Supreme Court’s decision on Proposition 8.
The intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.
GLAAD Senior Media Field Strategist Adam Bass was in attendance in West Hollywood, where crowds gathered and marched seven miles from West Hollywood to the corner of Hollywood and Highland – the site of the Kodak theater – and back.
During the march, chants calling for a new vote in 2010 burst out spontaneously during the march.
Media outlets noted the rallies were low key, with estimates of participation ranging from 1,000 to upwards of 15,000.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaking at the event in West Hollywood.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke to the crowd about the importance that LGBT people get out and share their stories. As reported by the Contra Costa Times, he said:
“We’re going into every neighborhood, every city. We’re going into every institution to have this conversation about the right of my first cousin John to have a family,” Villaraigosa said in a statement after the Supreme Court ruling. He was referring to his cousin, Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles, who is openly gay.
Comedian Kathy Griffin.
The West Hollywood rally was also attended by celebrities and public figures including West Hollywood mayor Abbe Land, actors Drew Barrymore and George Takei (who married his partner, Brad Altman, last year), and comedian (and GLAAD Vanguard Award honoree) Kathy Griffin.
Rallies took place in other parts of Los Angeles and throughout the state, including in Downtown Los Angeles at Pershing Square. GLAAD Media Advocacy & Research Fellow Moe Macarow attended the gathering, which was organized by the First United Methodist Church of L.A. and the United University Church, and included a march around Pershing Square to the chorus of “Ain’t Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around.”
Downtown L.A. march at 5th St. and Hill St.
Lt. Dan Choi also spoke up in Los Angeles about the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Prop. 8, telling the assembled crowd, “Love is worth it!” and speaking on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 about the importance of marriage equality and his recent discharge from the Army under the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. (You can watch the video clip at the bottom of this post.)
Other marches and demonstrations (notably in San Diego) took place in cities across the nation, including one that drew large crowds in New York. For images of rallies from across the country, check out the slideshow at Towleroad.com.
