One by one, they listened as 96 names were called in a room 2,800 miles away. As ayes were tallied, shouts of "Yes!" could be heard, followed by whoops and hollers.
When the final 65-31 Senate vote repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was finally announced, the group erupted in shouts of joy. Zoe Dunning began to cry.
Dunning, a retired Navy commander and a lesbian, has been waiting, and advocating, for the change for 17 years. She came out in 1993 and was one of the first people to be challenged under the policy implemented by then-President Bill Clinton.
Dunning won, but her defense strategy was later deemed unacceptable by military leaders, meaning she remained in the service but others were unable to use the same defense. Until her retirement three years ago, she was thought to be the only openly gay person serving in the U.S. military.
"I'm living proof that the presence of a gay person doesn't damage unit cohesion or morale," she said. "I've seen 14,000 people discharged since then - 14,000 lives that were changed or altered or sometimes destroyed. ... After 17 years of work on this, I am witnessing the end of this destructive policy. These are tears of joy."
The group celebrating the repeal also included San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty. After the vote, he turned to the crowd and asked a favor.
"Could we say the Pledge of Allegiance?" said Dufty, who is also gay. "For those of us who have felt cut out of the Constitution, it's just an opportunity for us to reflect on the fact that we are patriotic."
Everyone was beaming as they said the pledge, but it was when they got to the last line - "With liberty and justice for all"- that the group really came alive.
"This is a watershed moment for the 20th century civil rights struggle: LGBT equality," Dufty said later. "Today, we planted a seed that is going to grow."
Dufty and others predicted that the change in military policy will lead to other advances for gays and lesbians in the United States. Bob Dockendorff, a retired Navy captain, noted that the Pentagon will now have to tackle how to provide housing and benefits for domestic partners. And Dunning said that no other country has allowed same-sex marriage without first allowing gay members of the military to serve openly.
Gay advocates and former military members were not the only ones happy. At Bisou restaurant on Market Street, San Francisco residents Greg Richardson, Dana Chrisler and Rob Finley said they received a text from a friend who serves in the Coast Guard as soon as the vote was complete.
Richardson said he remembered when the policy was implemented and that its repeal shows that "people were willing to accept it then, but they aren't now."
"I think it's a way to get a foot in the door to get rights for other areas of our lives - I don't (care) about being able to join the military, but it's about equality," Chrisler added.
E-mail Marisa Lagos at mlagos@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 21 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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