Petition to POTUS to prevent Lt Dan Choi from being fired

Lt Dan Choi Archives – Rachel Maddow and CNN videos

May 27, 2009

Here is a copy of the petition to prevent Lt Dan Choi’s firing due to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy. Just saying “I am gay” constitutes “homosexual behavior” and meets the criteria for discharge. Even of a West Point Grad, who can speak fluent Arabic, who is well-respected in his unit and willing to do a third tour of combat duty.

Petition at Courage Campaign:

The Online organizing hub for progressive Californians…a network of over 700,000 grassroots and netroots citizens empowered to leverage online tools for offline activism.

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Keep your promise, President Obama
Tell the President to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and not to fire Lt. Dan Choi

Lt. Dan Choi, from Orange County, California, is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an Iraq War veteran. Last March he went on Rachel Maddow’s show and spoke three truthful words: “I am gay.”

As a result Lt. Choi received a letter from the Army on April 23 discharging him for violating the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He told Rachel Maddow the letter was “a slap in the face” to himself and the soldiers he as commanded and served with over the past decade.

Lt. Choi is fighting to stay in the military and ensure that no other soldier is ever again discharged as a result of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The Courage Campaign and CREDO Mobile are joining his effort to secure equality in our armed forces.

President Obama did not create this policy. But he now has the opportunity to keep his promise and allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly in the military. It’s the right thing to do — for justice and for national security.

140,860 people (as of Tuesday, May 26) have signed the following petition to President Obama from the Courage Campaign and CREDO Mobile. Please add your name now:

Dear President Barack Obama,

The time has come to end discrimination in our armed forces. We, the undersigned, ask you to stop the discharge of Lt. Dan Choi and any other soldier as a result of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. We ask that you uphold your pledge and push Congress to quickly put a bill on your desk to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Sincerely,