First lesbian kiss at Navy homecoming

Hyper Vocal reports: It’s only been three months since the discriminatory military policy known as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was officially repealed. Yet it feels like we’ve come a long way since September.

Openly gay service men and women are already laying waste to the 17-year itch. And a proud Navy tradition led to a major barrier being broken: When a ship comes in, one crew member is selected to be first across the bow in order to be the first kiss their loved one.

On Wednesday, a first for the U.S. military, that couple was a pair of women.

As the Oak Hill docked in Virginia after three months away from U.S. shores, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta proudly stepped up and planted a reunion-level kiss on her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell.

The Virginian-Pilot has more:

As the homecoming drew near, the crew and ship’s family readiness group sold $1 raffle tickets for the first kiss. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta bought 50 – which is actually fewer than many people buy, she said, so she was surprised Monday to find out she’d won.

Her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, was waiting when she crossed the brow.

They kissed. The crowd cheered. And with that, another vestige of the policy that forced gays to serve in secrecy vanished.

The women, ages 22 and 23, are fire controlmen in the Navy and met at training school. Navy officials said it was the first time on record that a same-sex couple was chosen to kiss first upon a ship’s return. The Navy said the money from the first-kiss raffle would be used to host a Christmas party for the children of sailors.

Hear from both women and watch the loving kiss below: