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Tustin's Outed Lt. Dan Choi In Military Court Tomorrow
Lt. Dan Choi
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Earlier this year, Tustin's Dan Choi, a lieutenant in the Army National Guard, shared during a television interview that he is homosexual, which put him in violation of the military's Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay servicemen and women's need to keep their sexuality a secret.Tomorrow Choi is due in military court, "defending himself against an effort to oust him for 'moral and professional dereliction,'" according to the OC Register. Choi's resume is impeccable; the son of a Baptist minister, he is a West Point graduate who served in Iraq then became a platoon leader in the National Guard. Now he has risen in the ranks of infamy for his public declaration, and continues to make waves for continuing to put himself at the forefront of a movement aimed at freeing military personnel from the burden of keeping their sexual orientation secret for fear of losing their position in the service.
Choi is part of Knights Out, a group that "encourages gay graduates of West Point academy to publicly declare their sexual preference," and he is part of a growing group of people urging President Obama "to follow through on a campaign promise to allow gays in the military to come out of the closet without getting kicked out." To show support for Choi, thousands of people have signed an online letter posted by the Courage Campaign, which Choi will submit in court tomorrow morning at 8.
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