The stars and rainbow stripes
Image: John Berry is the openly-gay US Ambassador to Australia. PHOTO: Frank Farrugia (Same Love Photography)
IT was a February day in Melbourne and Washington DC鈥檚 man in Canberra was in something of a political pickle.
It had all been so easy in Sydney.
When the Mardi Gras parade sashayed its way down Oxford St, he had a plum position perfectly situated to savour the floats and imbibe the atmosphere.
鈥淚 was supposed to just watch just like I did in Sydney,鈥� insists John Berry of his trip to Melbourne for Pride March earlier this year.
But he hadn鈥檛 factored on Labor Premier Daniel Andrews, fresh from his election triumph, sauntering past with the party鈥檚 LGBTI wing.
鈥淭he Premier says 鈥榟ey come out here and walk with me鈥� so I was, 鈥榦kay鈥�,鈥� Berry says.
Is it the done thing for a foreign diplomat to march under the banner of a local political party?
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want it to be seen as a political endorsement,鈥� the ambassador says.
鈥淸But] when a Premier asks you to do something, the answer is 鈥榶es sir鈥�.鈥�
So far, relations between Canberra and Washington have survived Pride, one of a slew of LGBTI-centric events across the country Berry has attended since he took on the role of US Ambassador to Australia in 2013.
He has also made a point of meeting members of the LGBTI community across the country, including hosting dinners at the US Embassy attended by the likes of Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
鈥淭hese are engaged, persistent creative leaders who are making a huge difference and it just gives me such hope in the future,鈥� says Berry, who is adamant the more gay people are out, the easier it will be for the next generation.
The ambassador himself has been open about his own sexuality from the very beginning.
In a YouTube video he made to introduce himself to his new host nation 鈥� a clip in which Berry is so full of folksy affability you feel he might be about to invite all of Australia around for an ice tea on the embassy lawn 鈥� he talks warmly about his spouse, Hawaiian-born lawyer Curtis Yee.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been in the closet since I鈥檝e been 25,鈥� he tells the Star Observer.
鈥淚鈥檓 take or leave it 鈥� if you have a problem with it, it鈥檚 your problem not mine.鈥�
BERRY鈥橲 journey to becoming America鈥檚 first openly gay ambassador to a G20 nation began within the mammoth US Government bureaucracy.
While assistant secretary of the Interior Department, he signed off on the heritage listing for New York鈥檚 Stonewall Inn, the site of a riot in 1969 when the bar鈥檚 patrons hit back at the police鈥檚 continued harassment of the LGBTI community.
Berry spoke about Stonewall 鈥� widely cited as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement and the forerunner of today鈥檚 multitude of pride parades 鈥� at New York Pride in 2000.
鈥淭rying to get a crowd of two million homosexuals to be quiet and listen to a speech is not a good idea,鈥� he jokes.
鈥淥ne of the more important addresses I鈥檝e given [and] you can count on one hand the people that heard two words.鈥�
However, via the media, word did get out.
鈥淚t led to everything from death threats to other things,鈥� he recalls.
鈥淭hat audience was angry that I tied gay civil rights to the advances of civil rights for all in the United States.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 been the philosophy I have pursued in my life.鈥�
By 2009, Berry 鈥� who was once described in The Australian newspaper by former Labor leader and current Australian Ambassador to the US Kim Beazley as a 鈥渂right bloke,听very听well-connected in DC鈥� 鈥� was heading up the Office of Personnel Management, essentially the US Government鈥檚 HR arm.
There he extended the anti-discrimination policy to trans* employees and led the process which culminated in President Barack Obama extending federal benefits to same-sex partners.
Berry is effusive in his praise of Obama saying LGBTI rights 鈥渨ill be one of the historical landmarks of his presidency鈥�.
Along the way, the ambassador has collected a few unique souvenirs.
Following a stint at the US National Zoo, a lion was named in his honour and a mountain in Antarctica has been christened 鈥淏erry Bastion鈥� after his push to increase funding into climate change research.
鈥淥nce you have a mountain and a lion named after you, you can relax,鈥� he says.
鈥淲ho needs a Nobel prize?鈥�
THIS month the US Supreme Court is due to make a judgement that could effectively legalise marriage equality across the country.
Of the nine judges who will make the decision, four are assumed to be in favour of changing the law and four against.
鈥淚t all comes down to Justice Kennedy,鈥� Berry says.
鈥淗opefully, it鈥檒l be a 5:4 decision in favour of marriage equality but you can never predict what the Supreme Court is going to do.鈥�
Should Kennedy vote no, Berry says he would hold no rancour: 鈥淚 have managed 40 per cent of our federal law enforcement, the secret service, customs 鈥� that鈥檚 a lot of gun-carrying agents 鈥� and to do that job I had to hold the highest security clearances.
鈥淚 could not have held those clearances if sodomy was still illegal and Justice Kennedy struck down that law.
鈥淗e鈥檚 already proven he鈥檚 a friend, he stands for equality, so I have nothing but admiration for him.
鈥淚 trust his judgement enough that if he were somehow to say 鈥榠t鈥檚 not time鈥� it would give me pause.鈥�
Kennedy was also pivotal in the 2013 striking down of the Defence of Marriage Act, one of the biggest hurdles to countrywide marriage equality.
Ten days after the act鈥檚 demise, Berry and Yee married.
How did it feel to finally say their vows, 17 years after their relationship began?
鈥淚t鈥檚 so increased our awareness and appreciation of the power of love,鈥� Berry says.
鈥淲e can tend to think of this just as a legal thing but this was to me a very empowering thing that made me take our relationship 10 times more seriously and that鈥檚 I think the power of marriage.
鈥淚 feel confident that, god forbid, if I were to have cancer and Curtis [had] to take care of me he would be able to do that all the better based on the emotional love that was deepened through our marriage ceremony.
鈥淎nd I say that as someone who cared for my first partner who died from AIDS and knowing what鈥檚 involved with taking care of someone as they die.鈥�
Has he discussed his views with Australia鈥檚 anti-marriage equality Prime Minister Tony Abbott?
鈥淣o,鈥� he says, pointing to marriage equality advocacy not being US foreign policy and so beyond his diplomatic remit.
鈥淚 always wear my wedding ring and I鈥檓 happy to talk about how the US handled marriage but that鈥檚 as far as I go.
鈥淏ut he has met Curtis and I.
鈥淚 feel he has extended every diplomatic courtesy and he and his wife have been very generous at making sure we鈥檙e welcomed.鈥�
Berry recently attended an event in Washington DC with five other openly-gay US ambassadors. But what exactly do gay ambassadors chat about when they get together?
鈥淒rapery,鈥� Berry shoots back, before conceding that following talk of home furnishings, the group discusses how they can help their fellow LGBTI employees in the State Department.
While the US has never had so many gay ambassadors, all are men. Could Berry see a time when, perhaps, a trans* person was appointed ambassador?
鈥淎bsolutely,鈥� he says.
鈥淭here are a great many transgender employees at senior levels of the government.
鈥淭he President has made well over 300 LGBT appointments and it鈥檚 only a matter of a time before every one of those categories will make it into the ambassadorial ranks.鈥�
BERRY says his Australian bucket list is almost complete following an avalanche of sightseeing advice on Facebook.
A suggestion which caught his eye was to visit the place which 鈥� inadvertently 鈥� bears his name.
So, one weekend Berry and Yee headed down to the historic NSW town of Berry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hysterical,鈥� he says.
鈥淓verything in Berry has signs that say, you know, Berry doughnuts, the Berry milkshake shop.
鈥淪o we took pictures everywhere and I said 鈥榣ook, I know where I鈥檓 moving when I鈥檓 done being ambassador鈥�.鈥�
Given he already has a lion and a mountain, the US Embassy might want to start thinking about the going away gift for the ambassador and his husband sooner rather than later.
Others flying the rainbow flag from the embassy
Stephen Brady, Australia
Upon his appointment to Denmark, Australia鈥檚 envoy made history by becoming the world鈥檚 first ambassador to have a same-sex partner officially recognised by another country. In 2015, he reportedly offered to resign following a request from a Canberra official not to bring his partner to greet visiting Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
James Hormel, US
The LGBTI activist鈥檚 posting to Luxembourg in 1999, in the face of fierce opposition from traditionalist lobby groups, made him America鈥檚 first openly-gay ambassador.听
Grete Lochen, Norway听
Oslo鈥檚 openly-gay envoy caused a stir in 2012 when she was sent to Sri Lanka 鈥� a country where homosexuality is considered illegal.
Brian Davidson, UK听
Marriage equality may be a long way off in China but there are loopholes. Britain鈥檚 Consul-General to Shanghai married his same-sex partner last year at the UK鈥檚 Beijing Embassy 鈥� but under English law.听听
Laurent Stefanini, France听
The Pope has so far failed to respond to France鈥檚 request to send openly-gay Stefanini as Paris鈥� man in the Vatican. Reportedly, it鈥檚 not the first time the Holy See has snubbed gay would-be ambassadors.
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**This was first published in the July edition of the Star Observer, which is . To obtain a physical copy, to find out where you can grab one in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.
