A gay US Navy sailor won the lottery on his ship to be the first to kiss his partner on arrival back home after seven months away.
This is not the first time a sailor has kissed his partner but it has been the coverage and in some sections the outrage that has caused the stir.
Bryan Woddington was the sailor on board the U.S.S. The Sullivans when it returned to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, after a seven-month deployment.
After winning the spousal lottery to be the first to kiss their partner, Bryan bounded down the gangplank to meet his partner Kevin for the first time in seven months.
“He got off the ship and I lost all control and I dropped everything and I just ran,” Kenneth said.
“I was excited and I could not wait for it to happen. I knew I was going to dip him,” Bryan said.
The kiss was very similar to the iconic image taken of a sailor kissing a stranger in 1945 at the WW2 Victory against Japan celebrations which is now erected as a monument in San Diego.
This was the newlywed’s first kiss in seven months and it aired on the local news which subsequently received some negative feedback.
The Woodington’s are well aware of the negative comments, since a lot of them got posted to social media.
Kenneth said that he “doesn’t really care that much about what people say,” and Bryan told News 4 Jax that “some people have a different life and this is how they are.”
The couple also said that they’ve received plenty of positive feedback as well, the navy has been nothing but kind and accepting and they believe that this can be a “teaching moment.”
The Navy itself says a same-sex kiss has happened before and it’s not an issue at all for the navy.
A spokesperson for that branch of the Navy said they have always been gender neutral and at the forefront of progress.
Last Updated on Dec 29, 2018
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