Time: 5:30 pm
Place: Giovanni's Room
At 12th & Pine Streets in Philly's "Gayborhood" in Center City
345 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Justin Crockett Elzie is the author of Playing by the Rules (Rebel Satori, $16.95 pb).
Paperback: 260 pages
Publisher: Queer Mojo (A Rebel Satori Imprint) (November 15, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1608640426
ISBN-13: 978-1608640423
Amazon: Playing By the Rules
Amazon Kindle: Playing By the Rules
A memoir by the first Marine to be kicked out of the military under “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Later reinstated, Justin became the first Marine to challenge Don't Ask, Don't Tell with a Federal Court Case and went on to serve four years openly gay.
He takes you on a journey of self-discovery from his early years growing up on a farm in Wyoming to joining the Marine Corps and finding an underground gay subculture within the military. Wanting to make a difference, he came out publicly as a gay Marine on ABC Evening World News in January 1993. He was described by his superiors as an exemplary Marine with two meritorious promotions, being named Marine of the Year and having served as an American Embassy Guard. After coming out he was recommended for promotion and served as a Platoon Sergeant in charge of Marines on a ship and in the field. He testified at the Senate Hearings opposite General Schwarzkopf, participated in the MTV show Free Your Mind and was photographed by Richard Avedon for The New Yorker. His story appeared on ABC, CNN, NPR, and in The New York Times.
He recently finished acting school in New York City and in November 2010 he was one of thirteen veterans who chained themselves to the White House fence pushing for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.