“Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple. It says, ‘Raise an army’. It says absolutely nothing about race, color, creed, sexual orientation. You all joined for a reason: to serve, to protect our nation, right?”

“Yes, sergeant major,” Marines replied.

“How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honorable and noble? Right? Get over it. We’re magnificent, we’re going to continue to be. … Let’s just move on, treat everybody with firmness, fairness,
dignity, compassion and respect. Let’s be Marines.”

Sgt. Maj. Micheal Barrett, senior enlisted adviser of the Marine Corps (via)