 Support DADT activist Lt. Dan Choi against the White House and Military's attempts to seize his veterans benefits and put him on trial.
Please sign petition: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/dan-choi?source=facebook Who is Lt. Dan Choi? On March 19, 2009, Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, announced that he was gay on The Rachel Maddow Show. Because of three words – “I am gay” – Lt. Choi’s life changed forever. Despite his extreme value as an Arabic speaker able to communicate quickly and clearly with the Iraqi people, one month after his announcement Lt. Choi was notified that the Army had begun discharge proceedings against him. He was one of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic. On June 30, 2009 Lt. Choi stood trial for telling the truth. He appealed (unsuccessfully) to his Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama. At trial, prosecutors presented videos of his public appearances as evidence while Lt. Choi gave his testimony in Arabic. When asked for a translation he wrote his statement in Arabic and English for court record. He also presented over 260,000 support statements from soldiers, citizens, members of congress, Iraqi friends, and his boyfriend. The military board decided to discharge Lt. Choi for violation of "Don't Ask Don't Tell." 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. In October 2009 he was a national co-chair of the March on Washington for LGBT Equality, and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Please sign the petition: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/dan-choi?source=facebook CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL 'NEWS & EVENTS' LISTED BY CONNEXTIONS MAGAZINE
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