Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Today we have come together to close a door on a fundamental unfairness in our
nation.
We have… (applause)
We have gathered to
advance an honor America’s cherished values of equality
and seek equal rights.
We are here to affirm
a core American principle
that anyone who wishes to serve, secure, and defend this country
should be welcomed.
Judged by their abilities and honored for their sacrifice.
What makes this moment so proud
for many of us and gives us an overwhelming sense of pride is that we never gave up,
that we continue to fight even in a face
of such incredible odds against us
and so much hateful roderick
and personal attacks.
What this repeal is about
it's about a equality,
it's about justice,
it's about integrity, it’s about national security.
We have lost so much because of this policy. We have lost more than 13,000 personnels.
We’ve lost more than 10% of our foreign language speakers. We've lost more than a 1,000
mission critical areas that can never replaced and we've lost people who never even joined
the military because of this policy.
At a time of two wars at a time of terrorism on every front we need all of our best and
brightest serving in this arm services.
I think about
the 14,000
brave men and women
who got kicked out of the military
for this horrible policy,
several of them who are on this stage.
And I just wanna say
i’m sorry
and we're going to do everything to make it all right.
Let me paraphrase Thomas Jefferson if I might. Thomas Jefferson said the true patriots love their
country not just for what it is
but for what it can be
and we took an enormous step to make our country what it can be.
In the process liberated patriots so they can go back and show us what true patriots are,
what a day.
Nobody looks at those graves of people who died serving their country and said
leave those three because their strait but to take those two out
because their gay.
We don't say that.
We say
they served their country.
Now what we're saying
finally
finally and so over do
we accept
that all of us
can be able to serve our country. Thank you.
And now it is my honor to sign and repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.