Gay America's number one priority: supporting our troops. Straight America's number one priority: supporting our troops. America's number one priority: supporting our troops.
Without the patriotic men and women in our military, we would not have the freedom to speak, march, protest, make money, make priorities. Patriotic gay soldiers have volunteered, and fought and bled, and died for our country even before our country learned how to discriminate against them. We fight two wars today but the gay soldier who returns home after fighting terror remains terrorized: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" forces gay soldiers into the closet. A closet of loneliness, secrecy, deception, hiding, and shame. As a soldier it is illegal to reveal my identity to my best friends, who fought alongside me in combat. It is illegal to tell my own mom three simple words: "I am gay." It is illegal to tell my boyfriend three words: "I love you."
After coming out of the closet with mere words I received a letter in the mail. I was fired. I could go quietly and slink away with an honorable discharge, or fight it: try to stay in, face a panel of officers. I could receive an "other than honorable discharge," barring benefits I earned while serving in Iraq. The veteran's home loan, education grants, even hospital benefits are up in the air. But the work I did in Baghdad was not for the benefits, pay grade, rank, or comfort. We had a mission. I still have a mission. I know several doctors in South Baghdad. They know I'm gay, they don't care. We worked together to rebuild their hospitals. They see me as a person, a human being, a brother, a trusted friend. They'd treat me. And even if I lose the veterans hospital benefits I earned because I stand for equality, for honesty, I know it is worth it.
Even more important than my mission to defeat DADT is to send a clear message, one that I hope every soldier will hear: You are not alone. You are honorable.
I call on all soldiers, past and present, gay and straight, to lace up their boots and march on Washington on October 11. Congress is in session. I will spend the entire week prior knocking on 435 doors of Congress and 100 doors of senators. Join me. ( http://www.nationalequalitymarch.com/).
Lieutenant Dan Choi is a combat veteran of the Iraq war, an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, and a West Point graduate fluent in Arabic. He is co-founder of KnightsOut, the West Point LGBT alumni group (http://www.knightsout.org) and faces discharge proceedings on June 30. He is a celebrity grand marshal in Sunday's LGBT Pride Parade, the first such parade he has ever seen in person.