Knight had an impeccable record and had served in two of the most elite positions available in the armed forces; as a ceremonial guardsman for the White House and State Department and then as a Hebrew linguist with the Navy's intelligence program.
None of that mattered as he was escorted off the Army base at Fort Gordon for the last time.
So neither begins nor ends the strange tale of Jason Daniel Knight, released from the military because his wife put down 'homosexual' as the reason for their annulment, called back to duty, released yet again for being gay, and finally called back yet a third time to active duty.
You can read the whole bizzare and infuriating story in two parts: Part I and Part II.
Jason Knight was to become the first openly gay member of the active military to serve in a war zone, and perhaps the only person ever to have been thrown out of the Navy twice for the crime of fighting while gay. Suffice to say reading the whole story is worth your time.
Now Jason wants the people responsible for this insanity to listen to him. Tomorrow Knight, along with hundreds of other veterans
will stand before members of Congress and their staff to tell his personal experience and explain that openly gay people can serve their country -- even in the close quarters of a war zone -- without issue.
Will Congress listen?
Will President Obama listen?
In a very interesting tweet on that last question today:
Official statement is that the President is aggravated & frustrated with the slow pace of repeal. Brian Fricke -- SLDN board member, after attending a meeting at the White House.
Tomorrow, you can help Knight, help Alva, and let the President know you are aggravated and frustrated too:
- Call the White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111 (Mon-Fri 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET) and leave a message asking the President to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell Now
- Send the White House an email. Go to Contact the White House to submit a message for the President.
- Contact Nancy Pelosi in her capacity as Speaker of the House and ask her to bring DADT up for a vote in the House.
- Contact the following members of the Senate Armed Services committee, especially if you are a constituent, and tell them you want a DADT repeal amendment in the Defense Authorization Bill
TED KAUFMAN
DELAWARE
202-224-5042 email
302-573-6345 302-424-8090
1105 N. Market St., Suite 2000, Wilmington, DE 19801-1233
BILL NELSON
FLORIDA
202-224-5274 email
1-888-671-4091 305-536-5999 813-225-7040 850-942-8415
US Court House Annex 111, North Adams Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301
DANIEL AKAKA
HAWAII
202-224-6361 email
808-522-8970 808-935-1114
300 Ala Moana Blvd., Rm. 3-106, Box 50144, Honolulu, HI 96850
EVAN BAYH
INDIANA
202-224-5623 email
317-554-0750 812-465-6500 260-426-3151 219-852-2763
1650 Market Tower, 10 West Market St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
SUSAN COLLINS
MAINE
202-224-2523 email
207-622-8414 207-945-0417 207-780-3575
One Canal Plazam, Suite 802, Portland, ME 04101
SCOTT BROWN
MASSACHUSETTS
202-224-4543 email
617-565-3170
2400 JFK Federal Building, 55 New Sudbury Street, Boston, MA 02203
BEN NELSON
NEBRASKA
202-224-6551 email
402-391-3411 402-441-4600 402-209-3595 308-293-5818
7602 Pacific St. Ste 205 Omaha, NE 68114
JIM WEBB
VIRGINIA
202-224-4024 email
804-771-2221 276-679-4925 757-518-1674 540-772-4236
507 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23219
ROBERT BYRD
WEST VIRGINIA
202-224-3954 email
304-342-5855 304-264-4626
300 Virginia Street, East Suite 2630, Charleston, WV 25301
LINDSAY GRAHAM
SOUTH CAROLINA
202-224-5972 email
803-933-0112 864-250-1417 803-366-2828
508 Hampton Street, Suite 202, Columbia, SC
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Knight's tale is just one of the many bizarre, sad and absurd tales that have come from our nation's policy towards gays in the military. Here's another strange tale, and for more stories of heroes and patriots trying to serve their country, read Stories from the Frontlines.
It's far past time for stories like these to end.