So, Dan Choi — the poster boy for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal — gets a bill from the Department of Defense because they discharged him FOR BEING GAY and therefore (in their eyes) he owes them money? Keep in mind, this was a signing bonus, a bonus you get for joining. Choi kept his end of the bargain. Our government didn’t.
Here’s the full text of the letter:
Dear Mr. President:
Today I received a $2,500 bill from your Defense Department Finance and Debt
Services. Specifically, you claim payment for “the unearned portion” of my
Army contract. Six months after my discharge under the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
policy I have tried to move forward with my life, and I was inspired by your
clarion calls for our progress as one nation towards a more just society. I
have served my country in combat and I have tried to live my life by the
values I learned at West Point in continued service to our nation. Â To move
forward in my own life I have finally sought treatment for Combat Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Insomnia,
and Depressive Disorder from the Veterans Affairs Department. But I still
find myself on a domestic battlefield for basic dignity as an American
citizen. I know I am not alone in this fight because of the desperate cries
for help I get from discharged, unemployed, discriminated, and suicidal
veterans. I have felt all of their same pains personally. Today I also
witness the disgrace of a country that perpetually discovers methods to
punish its own citizens for taking a moral stand.
By flagrantly and repeatedly violating an immoral law, I have flagrantly and
repeatedly saluted the honor of America’s promise. At West Point, when we
recited the Cadet Prayer we reminded ourselves “always to choose the harder
right over the easier wrong.” It would be easy to pay the $2500 bill and be
swiftly done with this diseased chapter of my life, where I sinfully
deceived and tolerated self-hatred under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Â Many
thousands have wrestled with their responsibilities and expedient solutions
when confronted with issues of this magnitude. I understand you also wrestle
with issues of our equality. But I choose to cease wrestling, to cease the
excuses, to cease the philosophical grandstanding and ethical gymnastics of
political expediency in the face of moral duty. My obligations to take a
stand, knowing all the continued consequences of my violations, are clear.
I refuse to pay your claim.
Respectfully,
Dan Choi
Former Army First Lieutenant
West Point Class of 2003
Attached:
DFAS Account Statement 12/20/2010 (2 pages)
Also published to twitter @ltdanchoi
Update: Scott Wooledge has some thoughts on this, too.