Let's take a moment to pay tribute to our nation's firefighters, who put their lives on the line every day to protect us. While we're all familiar with the obvious risks these brave men face in the line of duty, fires aren't the only threats they confront. There's also the menace of... the gays. Seems that a couple of firemen in San Diego are suing the SDFD for forcing them to participate in that city's gay pride parade. Says one:

"You could not even look at the crowd without getting some kind of sexual gesture. If any crew member were to hang up pictures at the station of what we saw, we would be disciplined. I was forced into a situation that would compromise what I hold true and what I believe in.

The horror! Also, the hotness! What kind of Godless acts were they subjected to?

A press release from the Thomas More Law Center, the conservative law firm representing the men, tells the tale.

During the course of the ensuing three hour long ordeal, the firefighters were subjected to vile sexual taunts from homosexuals lining the parade route. This included the following statements: "show me your hose," "you can put out my fire," "you're making me hot," "give me mouth-to-mouth," "you look hungry, why don't you have a twinkie (from a man wearing a "Girth and Mirth" t-shirt)," and "blow my hose." These firemen are devoted husbands and fathers. When they refused to respond to the crowd, some in the crowd turned hostile and started shouting, "F—k you firemen" and others began "flipping them off."

NO! Anything else?

The firefighters were also targets of gross sexual gestures to include the following: exposure of genitals, blowing kisses, grabbing of the crotch, rubbing of nipples, tongue gestures, men hugging and kissing one another passionately, many of them wearing make-up and dressed like women. Although the firefighters were not physically assaulted, the gestures were clearly directed towards them.

Good lord! Can't you feel their sheer, abject terror? We're deeply sympathetic. Also, deeply shocked: Who the hell knew anything remotely interesting happened in San Diego?

Firefighters Threaten Lawsuit Over 'Forced' Gay Pride Appearance [365gay, via]
San Diego Firefighters Forced to Participate in "Gay Pride" Parade Subjected To Gross Sexual Gestures and Obscenities: Thomas More Law Center Files Claim [Thomas More Law Center]