The sailor, August Provost, kept his private life quiet for the most part, but trusted that his friends knew, according to an interview with his partner in the San Diego Union-Tribune. His family had encouraged him to report the harassment to a supervisor. It’s not clear whether he did, or whether he even could have; admitting that he’d been harassed could have led to admission that he was gay, which is grounds for dismissal from the Navy. In an online article for San Diego’s Gay and Lesbian Times, the chair of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, openly gay City Commissioner Nicole Murray-Ramirez (pictured right), refers to sources on the base that say the harassment was in fact gay-related and that Provost had been facing a possible discharge based on his sexual orientation.

Murray-Ramirez says there was a long delay between the murder and public release of information, noting that U.S. Congressman Bob Filner was on the base Tuesday and was not informed of the murder. The Human Relations Commission is calling for an investigation into whether this was a hate crime. Meanwhile, a “person of interest” is being held in custody. Read the full text of the Union-Tribune story after the break.

By Kristina Davis

Union-Tribune Staff Writer

Originally published 11:59 p.m. July 1, 2009, updated 8:30 a.m., July 2, 2009

CAMP PENDLETON — A person was being held in connection with the suspected homicide of a 29-year-old sailor who was found in a Camp Pendleton guard shack, Navy officials said yesterday.

The body of Seaman August Provost of Houston was discovered about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday on the western edge of the base, said Doug Sayers, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest.

An autopsy was completed yesterday, but authorities were waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.

A “person of interest” was being held in the brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. No charges have been filed.

The death has local gay activists calling for an investigation into whether Provost was slain because of his sexual orientation. “We’re definitely monitoring this, and trust and hope the military will investigate this in the professional way it should,” said Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of San Diego’s Human Rights Commission.

Murray-Ramirez said he had asked two San Diego members of Congress, Reps. Susan Davis and Bob Filner, to make official inquiries with the military.

Provost’s partner, Kaether Cordero, said Provost was openly gay but kept his private life quiet for the most part.

“People who he was friends with, I knew that they knew,” Cordero said from Houston. “He didn’t care that they knew. He trusted them.”

Provost had recently complained to family members about a person who was harassing him, so they advised him to tell his supervisor, said his sister, Akalia Provost of Houston.

“He’s the type that if someone comes at him, he walks away. He never stands and argues,” she said. “He didn’t deserve anything but a good life.”

Provost was assigned to Assault Craft Unit 5 at Camp Pendleton. He had completed three years of college before joining the Navy in March 2008 to help finance his education, and was studying to become an architectural engineer.

The study by two professors found:

That after taking into account the effect of religious service attendance, support for Proposition 8 among African Americans and Latinos was not significantly different than other groups. Through a precinct-by-precinct analysis and review of multiple other sources of data, the study also puts African-American support for Proposition 8 at no more than 59 percent, nowhere close to the 70 percent reported the night of the election. Finally, the study shows how support for marriage equality has grown substantially across almost all California demographic groups — except Republicans.

What drove the vote? Party ID, religious attendance rates and ideology, not race or ethnicity:

• The two most important characteristics determining the vote were party identification and ideology.
  Those self describing as Democrats or Liberals, overwhelmingly opposed Prop 8. Those self describing as Republicans or Conservatives, overwhelmingly supported California Proposition 8.

• The third most important characteristic determining the vote was religiosity.
  Those attending religious services every week, supported Prop 8 by 70% while those attending once a month opposed it by 52% and those hardly ever attending opposed it by 70%.

• The fourth most important characteristic determining the vote was age.
  All the ages groups opposed Prop 8, except for those 65+ who supported it by 67%.
  As importantly, when compared to another marriage initiative in California in 2000 (the Knight initiative), all age groups increased their support of same sex marriage equality in 2008—except for those 65 years of age or older.

• African Americans and Latinos supported Prop 8 by 58 and 59% respectively—not 70% plus as reported in an exit poll on November 4, 2008.
  Furthermore, their vote correlates more with religiosity than race.

• Contrary to popular belief, knowing an LGBT person was not a significant factor in opposing California Proposition 8.

Super duper!

• Welcome to Super Tuesday. Get comfy, we’re gonna be here a while.
• The final polls are in. Obama and Romney lead in California; Clinton and McCain pulling away in New Jersey. Believe it or not?
• No deal to end the writers strike — yet.
• New York prepares for a Giant celebration.
• An even better catch than David Tyree’s.
• The iPhone and iPod Touch get a memory upgrade … but it’ll cost you.
• Things that “probably” don’t cause cancer: Mobile phones, coffee, breast implants. Rest easy Pam Anderson.
• DON’T CLICK THIS LINK! (I warned you.)

Our turn.

• McCain and Romney battle to the finish.
• Goodnight Rudy.
• How goes the vote?
• Way to go Dems! Love your electoral strategy of screwing Florida’s voters.
• And how long is this whole primary season going to continue, anyway?
• Facing an uprising by its rank-and-file members, California’s teachers union holds off endorsing Hillary.
• Break out the party hats! Bush gave his final State of the Union address last night. Too bad it was so overshadowed by the race to replace him.
• The best political reporting anywhere: The Onion.