Do Ask, Do Tell
Despite then-candidate Obama’s pledge to rescind “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the onerous government policy forbidding queer members of the military from serving openly, and despite a much publicized hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee during which the Pentagon’s top officials testified that it is time to do away with DADT, the horrendous policy is still very much with us. If
Lt. Dan Choi and other activists have their way, all that will soon change. Choi, an Arabic linguistic specialist who served in combat in Iraq, came out on the “Rachel Maddow Show” and was soon discharged. He has since become one of the most visible opponents of the DADT policy: his recent protest at the White House during which he chained himself to its gates in an act of civil disobedience and a symbolic statement about the imprisoning effect of the DADT policy garnered national coverage in mainstream media outlets. Choi’s case is still pending, and Choi was recently selected to serve as one of the Grand Marshals of New York City’s 2010 LBGT Pride March.
