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.”
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“‘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.

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) of Pennsylvania has taken over as lead sponsor of house bill HR 1283, which would repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy. Murphy is the first war veteran elected to Congress, having served in Bosnia (2002) and in Iraq (2003-2004) as a Captain in the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division.

Unwilling to wait for the Obama administration to take action, this Wednesday Murphy will begin a public push to get DADT repealed before the end of the year.

Murphy spoke of his commitment to overturning DADT in Stars and Stripes:

“People ask why does an Irish-Catholic guy who’s straight and married care so much about [overturning] ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” he said. “And I tell them it’s because this is something I believe in. It’s a failed policy that hurts national security.

“We all knew people who we served with who were gay, and it didn’t affect their job,” he said. “It didn’t affect me personally. But they were discriminated against, and that shouldn’t be.”

This Wednesday Murphy will launch www.letthemserve.com, advocating for the repeal of DADT, detailing facts and myths about the policy.

Last year Murphy spoke eloquently against DADT during a subcommittee hearing. Despite his Freshman status, he will be a strong voice and a tremendous ally in the effort to repeal the policy. Watch: