FAIR VIEW

From Joe.My.God:

Matthew Rettenmund reports at Boy Culture that the U.S. Army today accepted the re-enlistment of Lt. Dan Choi. It took Choi a few minutes of knocking to be admitted to the Times Square military recruitment center, which is on a traffic island between Broadway and Seventh Avenue. According to Rettenmund’s report, Choi merely has to supply some medical paperwork tomorrow and he’s in. In the clip below, Choi says he found today’s event to be “absolutely exciting, absolutely vindicating.” Congratulations, Lt. Choi!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r407kvpn4us]

Congratulations Dan Choi! This ought to be very interesting!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zqVZDl3uqc&feature=player_embedded]

It has been reported that the Department of Justice has filed their appeal (of Judge Phillip’s denial of their request to stay her DADT injunction) with the Ninth Circuit Court.

UPDATE

From Joe.My.God.:

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the DOJ’s emergency request for a temporary stay on Judge Virginia Phillips’ order to stop enforcing DADT. Via Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly, here’s the brief ruling.

This court has received appellant’s emergency motion to stay the district court’s October 12, 2010 order pending appeal. The order is stayed temporarily in order to provide this court with an opportunity to consider fully the issues presented. Appellee may file an opposition to the motion for a stay pending appeal by October 25, 2010. To expedite consideration of the motion, no reply shall be filed.

What this may mean (if anything) for Dan Choi, I have no idea.

From Joe.My.God.:

Sen. Harry Reid’s opening remark at his keynote address at Netroots Nation recognized Lt. Dan Choi, who was sitting next to me in the front row. The entire room gave Choi a standing ovation. Later during the question and answer session, the moderator presented Reid with Choi’s West Point ring. Reid promised to return the ring to Choi upon the official repeal of DADT, prompting Choi to leap to the stage and salute Sen. Reid (and also sending a couple of Secret Service men scrambling to protect Reid.)

The two then hugged on stage in a moment that will surely live on in LGBT activism history. It was a great moment. (Most of the queer contingent at Netroots had rushed to the tables at the front of the room immediately upon the opening of the doors, as we’d heard rumors that Choi might “do something.”)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA8vFHZNZEE&feature=player_embedded]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsyg5FdWU3k&feature=player_embedded]

From Joe.My.God.:

Lt. Dan Choi discusses his formal discharge from the military under DADT, which was revealed earlier this week.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_xDiVm08Bk&feature=player_embedded]

From Gay City News:

…Choi lost his battle with the Pentagon on June 29 when his discharge from the Army under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was finalized. While Choi’s National Guard unit informed him by registered mail and with phone messages, he has not disclosed the action. He did not respond to an email seeking comment. …

The last time I posted about Dan, he had been arrested with his compatriots for chaining himself to the White House fence and had begun a hunger strike. The charges were dropped in the misdemeanor case against him because the police ordered him to move since he was blocking pedestrian traffic, but he was up on a ledge and not really blocking it. There was a furor over whether or not the President would be called to testify, since it was his order that Choi was obeying. The hunger strike only lasted 7 days and did not achieve any of its goals.

Yesterday, Dan Choi and other members of GetEqual were arrested for blocking traffic on one of the busiest streets in Las Vegas in protest of inaction on ENDA by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). [Joe.My.God.]

Photo by Steve Freiss

Joe.My.God. happens to be in Las Vegas and will try to get a comment from Dan tomorrow.

From Joe.My.God.:

According to a press release issued overnight, Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. James Pietrangelo will begin a hunger strike to protest the compromise DADT repeal proposal.

FASTNG FOR EQUALITY & DIGNITY STATEMENT BY DAN CHOI

Immediately following congressional mark-ups on the National Defense Authorization Act 2011, Captain James Pietrangelo and I will commence a fast in pursuit of Equality and Dignity. We have three demands of President Barack Obama.

DEMAND #1: End the Comprehensive Working Group “Study,” which insults the dignity of all Americans.

DEMAND #2: End “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” discharges forever.

DEMAND #3: Replace all discriminatory regulations in the military with a comprehensive non-discrimination policy.

This action is not organized in the name of any organization.

Choi’s Twitter feed also warns of more protests.