Current Affairs

World’s most ironic Pride celebrations take place aboard ‘USS Ronald Reagan’

Jul 01 2016
Written by Nick Duffy

Ronald Reagan is celebrating LGBT Pride.

The late President Reagan served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989.

The celebrity-turned-politician was once named Homophobe of the Year’ by The Advocate magazine after referring to gay people as “sick unfortunates” and stalling repeal of Sodomy laws. He is overwhelmingly reviled by the LGBT community for his failure to manage the AIDS crisis.

The Reagan White House maintained a silence during the early AIDS epidemic, with one chilling recording featuring Reagan’s press secretary laughing about gay people’s deaths.

President Reagan did not mention AIDS in public until 1985, when 5000 people, primarily gay and bisexual men, had already died. Despite a high-profile friendship with the gay actor Rock Hudson, the Reagans allegedly ignored his pleas to help secure AIDS treatment shortly before his death.

Reagan, who died in 2004, remains a hero of the traditional Republican movement, with one diehard conservative recently proposing a new breakaway republic called ‘Reagan‘ where same-sex marriage is still banned.

Some of them might be upset to hear that Reagan is celebrating Pride.

Don’t worry, hell hasn’t frozen over just yet – it’s actually the crew of the aircraft carrier named after the former President.

The crew of the USS Ronald Reagan marked Pride on June 25, according to a release from the US Navy.

The Navy released two pictures from the event.

One explains: “Lt. Jon Fujiwara, from Westminster, Colorado, speaks to Sailors about being proud of who they are as individuals during a pride month observance event in the aft mess decks aboard the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

“The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is on patrol in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.”

Fujiwara said: “It’s awesome to see everyone come out and support the community, and it was an awesome event.”
World’s most ironic Pride celebrations take place aboard ‘USS Ronald Reagan’
The second picture states: “Yeoman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Elexis Rogers, from Jacksonville, Florida, sings the National Anthem during a pride month observance ceremony organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Supporting Sailors (G.L.A.S.S.) association on the aft mess decks aboard the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).