Obama Campaign Kick-Off: DADT Return Would Be ‘Betrayal Of Our Values’

President Barack Obama today, in his first official re-election campaign kick-off speech, said that a return to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) “would be a betrayal of our values.” The President also repeated a frequent line, “just because of who you are or who you love,” without referring to gay people specifically. The President was speaking before an estimated 14,000 people at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

“We’re not returning to the days when you can be kicked out of the United States military just because of who you are or who you love. That would be wrong for our national security, and it would be a betrayal of our values,” the President said.

President Obama made the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly a State of the Union priority. The ban officially ended September 20, 2011. As Commander in Chief, a future president could reinstate the ban on gay people.

President Obama also nodded to other minorities, like immigrants, saying, “It’s time to stop denying citizenship to responsible young people just because they’re the children of undocumented immigrants.”

Standing up for women, the President said, “I want women to control their own health choices, just like I want my daughters to have the same opportunities as your sons.”

For students, the President offered, “In the 21st century, higher education can’t be a luxury—it’s an economic imperative that every American should be able to afford.”

And reaffirming his campaign theme, “Forward,” the president said, “We have come too far to abandon the change we fought for these past few years. We have to move forward.”

“We have to move forward to a future where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.” He added, “That’s the choice in this election, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.”

Noting, “This election will be even closer than the last,” the President said, “If there’s one thing that we learned in 2008, it’s that nothing is more powerful than millions of voices calling for change,” and, “If people ask you what this campaign is about, you tell them it’s still about hope. It’s still about change.”

President Obama concluded with, “We will finish what we started. We’re still fired up. We’re still ready to go.”

Images via Twitter