Posted on 10/23/2006 9:35:24 PM PDT by newzjunkey
Reichen Lehmkuhl is perhaps best known for dating pop star Lance Bass of N'Sync fame or winning a $1 million on the adventure reality show "The Amazing Race." But before Lehmkuhl's name hit celebrity magazines, he was an Air Force captain living with a secret: He is gay...
But Lehmkuhl said when he entered the Air Force Academy, he was living with the secret of his sexuality.
"And I remember the panic that came over me at that moment realizing, 'What am I going to do? Am I going to be able to change this? How can I admit this?' " he said...
While the 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibited military personnel to question fellow soldiers about their sexual orientation, Lehmkuhl said it offered little protection for a gay captain hoping to maintain his privacy and his dignity.
"There was definitely an institutionalized acceptance of people being homophobic and telling gay jokes and making homophobic remarks -- really, really mean homophobic remarks to the point of, 'Kill gay people,' " he said.
Speculation grew about Lehmkuhl"s sexual orientation until one night, when he said he was sent a message. He said he was sexually assaulted by the people he served beside everyday.
"A bag was put over my head," he said. "I was stripped of my clothes. I was forced to do things sexually with two other male cadets."
Lehmkuhl said that night he hit rock bottom and considered ending his life.
"That's when you start having suicidal thoughts, and that's when you start saying, 'Oh my God. I am so stuck in this situation. I can't go to anyone,' " he said.
He kept silent about the incident, and served out his commitment to the Air Force.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Lehmkuhl said that night he hit rock bottom and considered ending his life.
Geez! Will NOTHING make these freaks happy?
I think he’ll be joining Lance on his N-SPHINC reunion tour.
HA!!!!
Well the few I've known?
...prefer the opposite.
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