Lance Bass' Boyfriend Target of Threats

[Behind the Aegis]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Lance Bass' boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl, says he and the former `N Sync star have been dealing with threats ignited by his new memoir about the trials of being gay while serving in the military.

"We have to be very protective," Lehmkuhl tells the TV show "Inside Edition" in an interview that was to air Wednesday.

"I am not going to hide," says the former Air Force captain and winner of season four of CBS' "Amazing Race." "There are threats that come in from people who do not want me to be so public and expose what is going on in the military."

Lehmkuhl, 32, says that he and Bass, who revealed he is gay in July, forward the threats to private security personnel who send what they consider the more serious ones to the FBI. "Everything is being covered so we feel safe," he said.

more...

[Breeze54]

1. Who the hell is Lance Bass and why should I care?

:shrug:

How is this a political story?

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Did you read the story?

[Name removed]

19. Deleted sub-thread

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[w13rd0]

3. Lance Bass's boyfriend...

...is a former military officer speaking out about the failure of "don't ask, don't tell" military policy, and the manner in which discrimination is encouraged by the brass.

[LostinVA]

11. And , winner of "The A,mazing Race," a very popular show

So, this memoir will reach a broader audience than usual.

He also has a law degree, so I hope he does something will all of this to help other service members.

[cboy4]

6. It illustrates the amount of anti-gay hate this ridiculous

Don't Ask Don't Tell policy fuels.

That is a total political issue.

You really don't know who he is?
------------------------------------------

Sept 20, 2002

MOSCOW -- Pop star Lance Bass will resume his training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, but he will not fly to the International Space Station (ISS) this October, a Russian space official said today.

Bass has paid most of his debts to the center and Korolev-based Rocket Space Corporation Energia and will be paying for further training out of his pocket, said an official at the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos).

Although Bass has already paid the Gagarin center and Energia "most, if not all" of the costs incurred by his training and other activities, the singer will not train as part of the two-person professional crew due to lift off in a Soyuz taxi to the ISS on Oct. 28, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

"Even if he pays $40 million instead of $20 million he will still not fly," the official said in a telephone interview today. "It is too late."

[Breeze54]

15. Lance Bass? No...movie star wannabe?

:shrug:

[Parche]

34. lance bass

You have to admit he is cute......................

[donheld]

7. Lance Bass is someone who is fighting for equal protection

It's a gay rights story and should be here. If you don't care then is guess you don't care about my rights either.

[Breeze54]

16. Who said I didn't care. Knock the 'assumption chip' off your shoulder.

[TankLV]

31. Knock the imagined "slighted" chip off yours...

[Ferret Annica]

8. Because, injustice and persecution anywhere...

...is a threat to freedom and human rights everywhere. You should have figured that one out on your own.

[Name removed]

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[transeo]

12. Uh yeah, gay bashing and military have nothing to do with politics

Nothing whatsoever. Uppity gays should just shut up. :sarcasm:

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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[LostinVA]

22. You asked "why should I care."

I believe that is what posters are reacting to, nit your question about who Lance is.

There have been lots of nasty anti-gay posts on DU over the last 24 hours, and your "Why the hell should I acre" sounds like some of them, even though you didn't mean it that way...

[Breeze54]

24. Perhaps

people at DU should be posting less about what some movie star said
and more about what they're doing to get the vote out!!'

I see many posts here daily about 'this bleach blonde and that idiot from Hollywood'
but I don't see multiple posts about getting the vote out.

Perhaps when I saw the name 'Lance Bass', it struck that chord of rage in my soul

that says; "Good grief! Not again!"

I'm failing to see people focused on these elections and that worries me a great deal!!

This IS the fight of our lives and I wish people would stop hand wringing and start taking action!!

Sorry for the rant but I'm really worried!!!

But back to the phones I go!

Progressive Democrats of America and Move-On Political "Call for Change" need my help.

NOW!!!!! We only have 13 Days Left!!!! 13 days! omg.....

[Ferret Annica]

30. You want to know something?

I just realized I don't know who that guy is either. I don't really care either as I don't drive a car, watch TV or go to movies. I did some incredible activism that helped the Kerry campaign in Oregon and it gave me the hunger to work full time the next presidential election.

We all need to roll our sleeves up and kudos to you for doing so. It is counter productive to admonish people in here or take your frustrations out on them. I can appreciate your worries, we all feel much the same way.

We all love this country, and those who know what is happening to it fear and hate corporate fascism as it infects us like cancer. I saw this post after signing off to you, so pardon the third post too, have a good night. Think I'll go google that guy's name myself, now I'm curious as to who he is.

[cboy4]

32. You know what? For you to casually disregard a post about a sexual

assault is unspeakable.

Lance Bass' name was mentioned because he is famous and is indirectly associated with this sex crime.

Your behavior in this thread is appalling.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted sub-thread

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[wicket]

13. Gay rights are human rights!!!

[Breeze54]

14. Of course they are!

I never said they weren't. I asked who the f was Bass.

[wicket]

21. So sorry, did not mean to imply that you didn't think they are human rights

My apologies :hi:

[Ferret Annica]

28. You sure are thin skinned

Why don't you relax and give others the benefit of doubt their posts are in good faith if you want yours' taken in good faith too?

I've been around quite a while, since the mid nineties on many different forums and Usenet. I have found a thick skin and a willingness not to nurse a grudge over a bruised ego quite helpful. You should try it.

In any event friend, have a good one. - Mike McCarthy

[SheepyMcSheepster]

20. Lance Bass is...........

read about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Bass

I would suggest using http://www.wikipedia.org/ anytime you wonder about something or someone. It is a good starting place.

[Breeze54]

26. I'm very familiar with the 'wiki' but

thanks. Being bleary eyed at 2:30 AM; I really didn't feel like looking him up.

[MrSlayer]

4. This dude came forward and said he was raped.

It needs to be looked into and if anyone is threatening him now for exposing it they need to be looked into too. Credible or not the issue should be addressed.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Sadly, there is nothing they can do about the rape.

However, I understand that they are taking the threats seriously.

[xchrom]

9. this is a perfect example of the hate storm

that people like dobson and falwell have kicked up.

people feel free to attack and make serious threats against people living their lives and telling the real story about what has happened to them.

this is disgusting that people in this country feel it's appropriate in any way threaten these young men and lehmkuhl in particular for telling the story of the discrimination and hate they faced -- and still moved forward.

[krispos42]

10. Threatening a military veteran with violence

Yeah, that's a good idea. Hope the homophobes like eating through a straw.

For historical perspective, let us go back to the 4th Century BC, ancient Greece.

The Sacred Band of Thebes, to be more precise.

<snip>

The Sacred Band of Thebes (ancient Greek: Ιερός Λόχος τών Θηβών; ἱερὸς λόχος hieròs lókhos) was a troop of picked soldiers, numbering 150 homosexual couples, which formed the elite force of the Theban army in late-classical Greece. The reasoning behind the Sacred Band was that lovers would fight more fiercely and more cohesively at each other's sides than would strangers with no philadelphic bonds. The Sacred Band was 150 pairs of lovers or best friends, a total of three hundred men, who found their gallant end on the blood-drenched field of Chaeronea, in 338 BC.

<break>

Defeat came at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), the decisive contest in which Philip II of Macedon (with his son, Alexander the Great, as he would later be known) extinguished the authority of the Greek city-states. The traditional Greek hoplite infantry were no match for the novel long-speared Macedonian phalanx: the Theban army and its allies broke and fled, but the Sacred Band, though surrounded and overwhelmed, refused to surrender. They held their ground and fell where they stood. Plutarch records that upon encountering their corpses “heaped one upon another”, King Philip, understanding who they were, exclaimed:

"Perish any man who suspects that these men either did or suffered anything unseemly."

<end snip>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_of_Thebes

Fucking knuckle-dragging homophobic low-forehead goons.

[leQ]

23. anything to have people discuss the issue is right in my book -nt

[warrens]

25. Hope he does a face dance on one of those cowards

Have I mentioned lately that I absolutely hate Repukes?

[Placebo]

29. You'd never expect that guy was ever raped...

looking as masculine and tough as he does.

Just proves, it can happen to anyone and you can't judge a book by its cover.

Sad story all around.

[Chovexani]

33. Reichen Lehmkuhl is awesome

He and his then partner absolutely tore through the Race, they were one of the best teams to ever run it. I used to be in Amazing Race fandom, and I got to meet him at a viewing party for TAR4's finale. He was a great guy, very down to earth, and had an awesome time with the fans.

I can't say I'm surprised that he's speaking out, the man's made of steel. It just sickens me that this sort of thing still happens in this day and age. It's 2006 already and we're still having to deal with this bullshit as a community.

The great thing about his book is that it will bring attention to these issues to people who otherwise wouldn't be exposed to them. A lot of people on DU are snide about reality TV and its fans, but it's a big chunk of the country (and honestly, TAR is a SMART show, kinda like National Geographic on speed).

As for the asshat upthread...the fact that RL and Lance Bass are using their celebrity as a platform to draw attention to important issues, other than being typical shallow famewhores should be applauded even if you don't know who the hell they are (a lot of people do).