( - promoted by The Big E)
I had the honor of attending a gathering with President and Michelle Obama at the White House on Monday, June 29, at an event marking the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, commonly cited as the modern beginning to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equal rights movement, alongside about 250 other LGBT citizens, allies and families. I was especially encouraged to see so many young people there.
This was a unique opportunity to remember those who began fighting for equal rights so many years ago, and honor the work that has been done since that time. It also was an opportunity for members of the LGBT community to speak with President Obama about how much work is yet to be done, and how we would like to work together to ensure equal rights for everyone in our country.
Because it was important for the President to know the thoughts and feelings of those from across the country the about the state of our movement and the pace of change, I brought two letters with me. I personally delivered each to the President's Senior Advisor, David Axelrod. |
| The first letter stated in part, "I am writing as a fellow elected official to report from the heartland of the country to share my perspective, at this unique moment in time, informed by my constituents and colleagues, about the possibilities for advancing important policies that will greatly benefit gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens-and by extension, our whole country. We know that when the great cause of justice moves forward, our entire country moves ever closer to fulfilling its ideals."
I was able to share that Minnesota has had modest success on issues important to the LGBT community, is poised to do much more very soon, and mentioned that, in this area of the country, public opinion is outpacing federal policies. The letter goes on to say, "We're just waiting for policies to catch up. For all of its work and patience, the GLBT community has seen almost no real change in federal policies in the last 20 years."
My second letter was an appeal on behalf of Army National Guard Lieutenant Dan Choi. The West Point graduate is also a fluent Arabic speaker who has served with great honor and distinction. He is facing a court martial trial beginning June 30 under the country's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. I know Dan Choi personally. The discharge of someone of his caliber will cause great harm to our national safety.
The letter states, "The so-called 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy mandates our soldiers to effectively live with dishonesty and dishonor. Lt. Choi has rejected the premise of that policy in order to uphold a greater policy, one that requires he serve with integrity and to bring the wholeness of his experience as a human to bear in carrying out his duties."
I asked the President to take four specific and concrete actions: to intervene on behalf of Lt. Choi to preempt his court martial; to invoke military stop loss provisions to cease the expungement of all military service personnel under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell;" to consider retroactively reinstating and repairing the finances of those still willing to serve who have been unjustly terminated from the military; and to bring a bill to Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
After Monday's meeting, I am persuaded that President Obama is committed to working with our community to advance the visions and hopes of our entire country. I know that he has heard the message of frustration from our community about lack of meaningful action and the damage inflicted by missteps of the last few months. I am grateful for such a unique opportunity to present these issues to him, and I hope the messages we all brought to the White House resonate with the administration. I look forward to more rapid progress on change for the better.
Scott Dibble is a Minnesota State Senator from Minneapolis |
