BREAKING: Six Gay Vets Chain Themselves To White House In DADT Protest
Others who are chained are all discharged vets, including Pam’s House Blend writer, Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II, Petty Officer Larry Whitt, Cadet Mara Boyd, and Airman Victor Price.
UPDATE: Visit “Watch: Lt. Dan Choi, 5 Others, Chained To White House Gates, Protesting DADT” to watch a video of the civil action.
AMERICAblog Deputy Editor Joe Sudbay, via Twitter, accused the White House of trying to “obstruct coverage” of the protest.
Via GetEQUAL:
The vets are concerned about mounting signs that the President is wavering on his promise to push for repeal this year.
Today’s action comes one month after Choi and Pietrangelo were arrested for a similar DADT protest at the White House in which they handcuffed themselves to the gates for a period of an hour, while hundreds of protesters looked on.
“We are handcuffing ourselves to the White House gates once again to demand that President Obama show leadership on repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ If the President were serious about keeping his promise to repeal this year, he would put the repeal language in his Defense Authorization budget,†said Choi. “The President gave us an order at the Human Rights Campaign dinner to keep pressure on him and we will continue to return to the White House, in larger numbers, until the President keeps his promise to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year.â€
Amid growing signs that the White House is wavering on its commitment to repeal DADT this year, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) called on the President last month to publicly state his desire to repeal DADT this year. President Obama has refused to respond, prompting Frank to say last week that he is “disappointed†and “frustrated†with the Obama administration’s silence on DADT. “At this point the President’s refusal to call for repeal this year is a problem,†Frank added, saying that the President’s silence is now costing us votes in the Congress.
(H/T @LOrion)
(image: GetEQUAL)

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