Obama Promises To End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ In The Military
“I will end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” President Obama said at the Human Rights Campaign fundraising dinner for the nation’s largest gay advocacy group on Saturday night.
The Washington Post reported that, recounting the ongoing effort to bring full civil rights to gays and lesbians, the president said: “I’m here with a simple message: I’m here with you in that fight.”
“My commitment to you is unwavering, even as we wrestle with these enormous problems,” Obama said. “Do not doubt the direction we are headed and the destination we will reach.”
Obama has so far delivered in his support of gays and lesbians.
According to the Post, the White House distributed tickets to gay families to attend the annual Easter Egg Roll this year, hosted a Gay Pride Month celebration, and awarded the Medal of Freedom posthumously to Harvey Milk, the San Francisco supervisor and gay activist.
The president also picked John Berry to serve as director of the Office of Personnel Management, making him the highest-ranking openly gay official in U.S. history.
Obama did not offer specifics on how he would advance the cause of allowing gays to serve openly in the military, or of gay marriage.
