Here I am again, posting about Lt. Dan Choi. On March 19, 2009, Lt. Dan Choi, announced that he was gay on
The Rachel Maddow Show. Despite his value as an Arabic speaker able to communicate with the Iraqi people, Lt. Choi was notified that he was soon to be discharged.
To read my 2009 post,
Lt. Dan Choi Discharged Under Don't Ask Don't Tell, click
here. To read my 2009 post,
Lt. Dan Choi Fired Despite Much Support, click
here.
On June 30, 2009 Lt. Choi stood trial and appealed unsuccessfully to President Barack Obama. He presented over 260,000 support statements from soldiers, citizens, members of congress, Iraqi friends, and his boyfriend.
While the case was appealed to the Secretary of Defense, Lt. Choi served openly in his infantry unit for over a year while publicly pushing for the repeal of the immoral policy.
On March 19, 2010 Lt. Choi handcuffed himself to the White House fence with fellow gay veteran Captain James Pietrangelo II. As a result they were arrested and spent the night in prison. They repeated the action on April 20, 2010 with four other veterans including a transgender navy veteran.
Upon Choi's release from prison, he received notification of his honorable discharge under
"Don't Ask Don't Tell." He then wrote a letter to the Senate Majority Leader, relinquishing his
West Point class ring.
Choi's last arrest occurred on November 15th, 2010. Choi protested
Don't Ask Don't Tell at the White House. Choi is now facing federal charges which equate to 6 months in prison or a $5,000 fine for an obscure infraction of Parks and Wildlife federal regulations.
Courage Campaign Chair and Founder Rick Jacobs sent a letter of support to Judge Facciola, who is presiding over his trial. Help the cause by adding your name to the letter! To do this visit the Courage Campaign website and simply type in your name, email and zip code. It's easy!
To read the letter click here.
To add your name to the letter click here.
Resources
To visit the official Lt. Dan Choi website click
here.
To visit the official Lt. Dan Choi facebook page click
here.
To visit the official Courage Campaign website click
here.
To visit the official Courage Campaign facebook page click
here.
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