After the House of Representatives passed an amendment to H.R. 5136 The National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 that would lead to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) released the following statement: 

“I support the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 that would lead to the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) military policy.  For the past 17 years, ‘DADT’ has forced many of our service men and women to hide who they are as they selflessly sacrificed their lives for our country.  The amendment would repeal ‘DADT’ following the receipt of recommendations from a Pentagon working group tasked with formulating the implementation of the repeal and certification from the President and Secretary of Defense that the Department of Defense is prepared to implement its repeal.  

“Since the implementation of this discriminatory and misguided policy in 1993, almost 14,000 service members have been fired because of their sexual orientation.  The United States is well behind many of our allies in allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.  Policies, like ‘DADT,’ that create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust among colleagues serving side-by-side have no place in the military.  I applaud the repeal of ‘DADT’ and believe it is a significant step toward ensuring equality in our military and securing rights for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.  

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