Since I wrote about Lt. Dan Choi's dismissal from the military yesterday, I wanted to do a quick update with Choi's appearance on the program that started the whole saga, The Rachel Maddow Show.
Rachel talks to Dan, who came out on her show months earlier, as well as Representative and possible Senate candidate Joe Sestak. Both men spoke passionately about the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which many feel is way overdue.
– Andy
The military is having trouble getting Arabic linguist as it is and they keep booting us out. Love to see the dollar impact of training these men and women and then booting them.
Jeff, there have been plenty of studies about the dollar cost of discharge due to sexuality. I wrote a paper about it once, and honestly can’t find it, but the number is in the millions.
Sorry Dan, you knew the consequences yet you seem somewhat shocked by receiving that letter from the NY Army Nat’l Guard. It’s great you are challenging the DADT policy, but until it is overturned, you are still under the UCMJ and under the current policy. True, DADT is wrong, but you risked your military career when you could’ve stayed in the military and fight within the ranks.
Too many pressing issues precede DADT right now, but only time will tell when this comes before President BO. And as much as there are a number of men and women being discharged for being openly gay, there’s still quite a large number who choose to remain to serve without risking their careers.
Rachel Maddow and MSNBC….fugh.
It’s called civil disobedience, navymscle. Sometimes it means dealing with consequences. And because those consequences are the result of wrongful laws and we have a right to free speech, it is perfectly legit to object to them.
Openly gay men and women in our military will ruin it. As a career gay Marine I cannot begin to tell you the problems our military has had with the gays. It is staggering and embarrassing. We need grow up and mature as gay men and women we need to base our gay community and culture on integrity and values. We talk about being treated unfair and discriminated against yet has anyone noticed how we treat our own? We need to learn how to treat our own kind with the same expectations we have of others.
Ummm yeah, E-man…operative word “disobedience”…and no, it is not a wrongful law until it is legally deemed as such. Challenge it all you want, but all you’ll get is another servicemember booted legally back into the civilian ranks.
I’d rather have had Lt. Dan fighting within the military ranks rather than from outside…but it was his call and he should have expected the outcome.
Oh man US is really behind when it comes to civil rights for gay people, here in Canada in 2004 the military went as far as paying for the gender reassignment surgery of a MTF trans sergeant.
Tax payers should not be paying for gender reassignment surgery.
yea so I’ll be the only one here to just say how articulate and honorable LT Choi is..but he is so hot! Damm I’m just saying..