As reported earlier this week, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), an Iraq war veteran, announced “Voices of Honor: A Generation Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” a national publicity tour focusing on the damage caused to soldiers and national security by the DADT. The tour is joint effort by Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Servicemembers United and will be headed to several cities over the next several months. From HRC:

“This tour focuses on the voices and stories of the qualified, patriotic gay and lesbian service members who are forced out of the U.S. Armed Services simply because of who they are,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.  “Poll after poll continues to show the vast majority of Americans, including the majority of active members of the Armed Services, support the right of gay and lesbian service members to serve openly and honestly.  We must repeal this discriminatory policy and ensure that our military can recruit and retain the best and the brightest troops regardless of their sexual orientation.”
…

“‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ clearly isn’t working for our military, and it hurts national security and military readiness at a time when America is fighting in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA).  “My time in Iraq taught me that our military needs the best and the brightest who are willing to serve- and that means all Americans, regardless of their orientation.  Discharging brave and talented service members from our armed forces is contrary to the values that our military fights for and that our nation holds dear.”

Clips from the announcement below:

To find out more about the tour visit the Voices of Honor website.

As a part of the multi-pronged effort to overturn DADT, Rep. Murphy has also launched his own site, LetThemServe.com. Be sure to sign the petition there.

Unfortunately, this is not a surprise.

A military administrative board has recommended a discharge for Lt. Dan Choi who violated the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy by coming out on the Rachel Maddow Show last March. From Syracuse.com…

A four-officer panel meeting at Hancock Air Base notified Choi at about 5 p.m. that it would recommend he be discharged because he has publicly said he is gay.

The recommendation now goes to Lt. Gen. Thomas Miller of the First Army Division, and Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who will make the final decision.

“Today was a setback for me,” Choi said at a 6:10 p.m. news conference. “I got in trouble for saying three words. ‘I am gay.'”

But he said he refuses to lie about being involved in a relationship with another man. Choi said the relationship has made him a better person, a better Christian and a better officer.

Choi, an Arabic-speaking officer who served for 15 months in Iraq as a member of Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division before joining a New York National Guard unit based in Manhattan, said he would appeal to the higher-ranking officers to stay in the National Guard.

And an update from tonight’s Rachel Maddow Show:

The discharge process may take up to one year, and Choi may lose veteran benefits as a result.

I covered the San Francisco Pride 2009 Media Party this evening honoring the grand marshals for this year’s Pride parade. I was really happy to meet Lt. Dan Choi, who is serving as one the Celebrity Grand Marshals along with Cloris Leachman and Milk producer Bruce Cohen. Lt. Choi has been in the news lately for outing himself on the Rachel Maddow Show and getting ejected from the military for violating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He’s a real nice, standup guy, who shouldn’t be punished for who he is or who he loves. Some snapshots from the event below:

This Memorial day let’s take a moment to honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Without their courage and valor we would most certainly not have the freedoms we enjoy today.

But for the LGBT servicemembers who also gave their lives, their service and sacrifice are seldom recognized in the context of who they were. Today I would like to extend a special tribute and thanks to them, for serving in a military and protecting a nation that would so often prefer they did not exist.

Last year I created the Worthy of Sacrifice Project to capture the stories of the LGBT servicemembers who served but never came home, as told by the families, friends and partners they left behind. It was my intention to document those stories ensure that those who served were never forgotten, and to show their sacrifice was no less worthy because of who they were and who they loved.

If you have a story to share, or know someone who does, please visit: WorthyofSacrifice.org