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Outed Lt. Dan Choi due in military court tomorrow
Outed Lt. Dan Choi, a lieutenant in the Army National Guard, is due in military court tomorrow morning at 8:00 am to face charges for violating the military's Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell policy regarding gay servicemen and women's need to keep their sexuality a secret.
Tomorrow Choi is due in military court, "defending himself against an effort to oust him for 'moral and professional dereliction,'" according to the OC Register. Choi's resume is impeccable; the son of a Baptist minister, he is a West Point graduate who served in Iraq then became a platoon leader in the National Guard. Now he has risen in the ranks of infamy for his public declaration, and continues to make waves for continuing to put himself at the forefront of a movement aimed at freeing military personnel from the burden of keeping their sexual orientation secret for fear of losing their position in the service.
Choi is part of Knights Out, a group that "encourages gay graduates of West Point academy to publicly declare their sexual preference," and he is part of a growing group of people urging President Obama "to follow through on a campaign promise to allow gays in the military to come out of the closet without getting kicked out." To show support for Choi, thousands of people have signed an online letter posted by the Courage Campaign, which Choi will submit in court tomorrow morning at 8.
Choi has become a fierce advocate for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell since coming out on national television on the Rachel Maddow show earlier this year. In addition to being a founding member of Knights Out, Choi joined the Courage Campaign in California in their fight for marriage equality and LGBT rights overall.
Update (Tuesday, June 30):
On the morning of Tuesday, June 30, Choi and his attorney presented evidence to an Army and National Guard panel, according to Knights Out spokesperson Sue Fulton.
Choi and his attorney presented evidence this morning to a panel of two Army officers and two National Guard officers at an armory at Hancock Air Base, said Sue Fulton, a spokeswoman for Knights Out, a group of gay and straight West Point Alumni who support the rights of gay soldiers.
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Rhonda J Mangus
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Pythiian1
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Paschen
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at 20:06 on June 29th, 2009
Good for him. He has seen the light and knows that the DADT policy is nothing but ridiculous. It basically tells soldiers as long as we don.t know you.re gay you can die for your country. But if you tell us we have no alternative but to release you.
In this case, this young officer served in Iraq and obviously well. I hope President Obama has the courage and conviction to change this policy and bring all of us into the 21st century. I believe he could do that with an Executive Order. He is the Commander in Chief.
at 04:09 on June 30th, 2009
i hope lt dan can win this fight! he is a HERO who wants to serve this country & it shouldn't matter if he's gay! stand strong lt dan! my friends & i have signed your petition, we hope it helps!
at 00:36 on July 29th, 2009
this is how the militarys always worked and its obviously been very successful. why change whats working? thats the big problem you people are trying to change the greatest country in the world and the strongest!