Aaron Belkin addresses the Alexander Hamilton Post of the American Legion

Aaron Belkin addressed the Alexander Hamilton Post #448 in San Francisco on June 17, 1999. The Post was officially chartered in October, 1985 as a chapter of the American Legion designated for gay and lesbian veterans.

Belkin discussed ways in which academics could collaborate with gay and lesbian veterans to address military antigay discrimination. According to Mary Katzenstein's important 1999 study of organizational change in the military, "insider" activists working within an organization are the key to policy evolution. Since gays and lesbians cannot serve openly in the American armed forces, veterans are the closest approximation of insider activists and are thus essential players in any effort to address military antigay policy.