Lt. Dan Choi was the only one of six lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) discharged veterans to make a statement on Tuesday morning. Standing with his arms locked behind him, the still-active reserve member (who has become, in many ways, the face of the DADT repeal effort), called on Obama ‘to take bold action, to show firm resolve and real leadership’ and ‘to make good on [his] promise’ to repeal DADT.
‘[H]e has the opportunity to transmit to Congress, through the Defense Authorization Bill, the repeal language,’ said Choi, who was arrested in a similar protest weeks ago and is awaiting a hearing for that arrest this Monday.
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The group of six protesters, adorned in their military uniforms, approached the White House closely at noon, after which they very casually chained themselves to the fence. Standing in silence for several minutes, Choi offered his statement. They then stood silently once more as the Secret Service cleared the area around them.
Roughly 45 minutes in, Secret Service agents began cutting off the protesters’ handcuffs and placing each member into a police wagon. By 1 o’clock, everyone had been removed from the fence and reporters dispersed.
