Six Arrested After DADT Protest at White House

Six military veterans were arrested Tuesday after handcuffing themselves to the northern fence of the White House in protest of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the policy that keeps gay people from serving in the military.

Lt. Dan Choi, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo II, Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen, Petty Officer Larry Whitt, Cadet Mara Boyd, and Cpl. Evelyn Thomas chained themselves to the White House fence and stood in silence as volunteers from GetEqual, the advocacy organization that organized the protest, and other LGBT acvitists chanted and cheered them on in the streets.

Protestors screamed "Thank you for your service, you deserve better," "Hey hey, ho ho, Don't Ask, Don't Tell has got to go," and "Shame, shame, shame" as police officers unchained and arrested the veterans.  The protestors - and all civilians in the area - were moved across the street to Lafayette Park, which was soon also cleared because of the disturbance.

The six veterans spent the night at D.C. County Jail.  They now await an arraignment hearing at D.C. Central Cellblock on Wednesday afternoon.

Choi and Pietrangelo were previously arrested last month for a similar act of civil disobedience.

Photo captured from CNN footage.

A Big Week For Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In just seven days, two major events caused Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the policy that prohibits homosexuals from serving openly in the military, to reappear under the national spotlight.

Last Thursday, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT rights organization, hosted a rally at Freedom Plaza to protest Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Headlining the event, which was attended by hundreds of gay rights supporters, was comedienne Kathy Griffin, an outspoken supporter of gay community.

Griffin, who stars in the Emmy-winning reality series, "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," read a letter from a closeted homosexual currently serving in Afghanistan, whose name she could not reveal for fear of damaging his career.

“‘The policy continues to make us feel like illegitimate citizens despite our willingness to protect the very government – possibly with our lives – who legitimize this law. We feel it codifies bigotry,’” she read. “As long as this law remains on the books, there is not only the fear of being caught and losing everything, but the shame of living counter to what I know are the military’s core values of living an ethical and honest life.”

Lt. Dan Choi, who came out on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC last year and is now facing discharge under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, made an unscheduled appearance at the rally, telling the crowd "I am still standing, I am still fighting, I am still speaking out, I am still serving my country, and I am still gay.”

Choi then led a group of protesters to the White House, where he and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo chained themselves to the fence, resulting in their arrest. They were held in custody overnight and released the next day, pleading "not guilty" to a charge of failuire to obey an officer.

Then this Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates rolled out a series of rules meant to ease enforcement of Don't Ask, Don't Tell while the Pentagon completes its study of how to repeal the law in full. Some of these new rules include:

• The firing of a gay serviceperson must now be done by an officer at a rank at least equivalent to that of a one-star general.
• Information supplied by third parties must now be given under oath, and a third party's testimony should be scrapped if that person is seeking revenge.
• Information given in confidence to lawyers, clergy, psychotherapists, or medical professionals can no longer be used in dismissal cases.

Joe Solmonese, president of The Human Rights Campaign, praised the new rules as "a positive step towards repeal this year," but Choi said on "The Rachel Maddow Show" that "it misses the point entirely." President Barack Obama himself has yet to make a statement on the issue.