A month-long poll at "Gay News Daily" selected Iraq war veteran Lieutenant Daniel Choi as "Queer of the Month" with 60% of the vote. Comedian Wanda Sykes came in second with 13%.
Lieutenant Daniel Choi is a veteran of the US Army, where his service included an extended tour of duty in Iraq as an Arabic interpreter. A graduate of West Point Military Academy, he is the co-founder and spokesperson of Knights Out, an organization that includes about 75 West Point grads who are openly gay or lesbian, in defiance of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that requires homosexuals and bisexuals in the service to keep their sexual orientation secret. As an infantry platoon leader in the New York National Guard, Choi is still subject to the ramifications of DADT.
On March 19, 2009, Choi appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, where he began to tell his story. “By saying three words to you today, ‘I am gay,’ those three words are a violation of title 10 of the U.S. Code.” The audio feed mysteriously cut off, but he returned the next day to continue the interview. Referring to his extended tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom he noted, “One of harder things was coming back from Iraq. Being an Iraq combat veteran, an Arabic linguist, a West Point graduate, I come back to America as a second-class citizen who‘s forced to lie because of this rule, because of this law.”
A few weeks after this interview, Choi received his discharge letter. On June 30, 2009, a panel of New York National Guard officers recommended that Choi be discharged from the military. The final decision, which will be made by the commander of First Army and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, is pending.
He has since become even more active in the gay civil rights movement, focused on repeal of the ban on openly LGBT service members. He’s a popular speaker at events including Pride rallies and protests. He was Grand Marshal of 2009’s San Francisco Pride Parade.
In an open letter to President Obama and Congress, Choi begged to keep his job. “As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates. I demand honesty and courage from my soldiers. They should demand the same from me.”
Read More at www.gaynewsdaily.net
Lieutenant Daniel Choi is a veteran of the US Army, where his service included an extended tour of duty in Iraq as an Arabic interpreter. A graduate of West Point Military Academy, he is the co-founder and spokesperson of Knights Out, an organization that includes about 75 West Point grads who are openly gay or lesbian, in defiance of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that requires homosexuals and bisexuals in the service to keep their sexual orientation secret. As an infantry platoon leader in the New York National Guard, Choi is still subject to the ramifications of DADT.
On March 19, 2009, Choi appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, where he began to tell his story. “By saying three words to you today, ‘I am gay,’ those three words are a violation of title 10 of the U.S. Code.” The audio feed mysteriously cut off, but he returned the next day to continue the interview. Referring to his extended tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom he noted, “One of harder things was coming back from Iraq. Being an Iraq combat veteran, an Arabic linguist, a West Point graduate, I come back to America as a second-class citizen who‘s forced to lie because of this rule, because of this law.”
A few weeks after this interview, Choi received his discharge letter. On June 30, 2009, a panel of New York National Guard officers recommended that Choi be discharged from the military. The final decision, which will be made by the commander of First Army and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, is pending.
He has since become even more active in the gay civil rights movement, focused on repeal of the ban on openly LGBT service members. He’s a popular speaker at events including Pride rallies and protests. He was Grand Marshal of 2009’s San Francisco Pride Parade.
In an open letter to President Obama and Congress, Choi begged to keep his job. “As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates. I demand honesty and courage from my soldiers. They should demand the same from me.”
Read More at www.gaynewsdaily.net