Howard Dean Sends Open Letter To Obama Demanding Repeal Of DADT

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean has written an open letter to the president demanding that a repeal of DADT be attached to a Department of Defense funding bill. An excerpt:

While I understand the need to research how repealing DADT will affect members of the military, the law can still be repealed with an implementation timeline this year. The time to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is now. I urge you to take immediate action to insure that Congress includes the repeal of DADT -- with an implementation timeline -- in the Defense Authorization bill currently under consideration. I am sharing this open letter with my friends in the Courage Campaign and Democracy for America communities, thousands of whom will join me in signing a petition asking you to take leadership to repeal DADT this year. You can read the petition -- and Americans can sign on to it here. One of our nation's most precious and fundamental values is the guarantee of equal rights for every American. Gay and lesbian Americans have demonstrated their courage and given their lives in service to our country since our nation's military was founded. Now it's time to allow them to say who they are.

The Courage Campaign has posted the full letter on Facebook.