LESBIAN COUPLE SHARE NAVY’S “FIRST KISS” HOMECOMING HONORS
22 Dec 2011
For the first time, a lesbian couple today marked a time-honored Navy homecoming tradition in which a sailor is chosen to be the first off the ship to exchange a kiss with a loved one. As homecoming approached, the crew and the ship’s family readiness group sold $1 raffle tickets to pick the sailor to be first off the ship to deliver the coveted first kiss on the dock. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta bought 50 tickets and won, the newspaper reports.
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 Associated Press reports.
PM Julia Gillard was rushed from a Canberra building after over 100 Indigenous Rights protesters surrounded The Lobby restaurant where she and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott were attending an Australia Day function.
The protest was sparked by comments made by Abbott about the redundancy of the Tent Embassy, an unofficial Indigenous encampment established in 1972 to represent its peoples in National Parliament, located just metres away from the restaurant.
