In June, the New York Times Magazine profiled an anonymous gay Marine who criticized the military's policy of "don't ask, don't tell," emphasizing the clean-cut image he and his gay colleagues sought to project. The Marine said that he knew "very little about the gay culture," adding that he found its hedonistic component "wearying and empty." He also said that he and his friends "monitor themselves obsessively" so that nobody can possibly find out they're gay. But The Advocate, a gay magazine, noted that the Marine in question (Rich Merritt) actually had starred in pornographic homosexual films while on active duty, a revelation that Times Magazine editor Adam Moss insisted "doesn't alter the story's truths." Merritt does not appear to have been persecuted, having received an honorable discharge.

†