Yesterday, March 18th 2010 will be remembered as one of the great days of civil disobedience and LGBT Superheroes!
Lt. Choi and Captain Pietrangelo handcuff themselves to the White House Fence
It started yesterday afternoon in DC where a rally on DADT was being thrown by the HRC and entertainer Kathy Griffen. Although the rally was well attended (thanks to our celebrity fag-hag 😉 ) it was mostly just a publicity stunt for Ms. Griffen’s show “D-List.” That’s when Get Equal Co-Director Robin McGehee and Liutenant Dan Choi showed up. Despite being told by HRC director Joe Solomnese that this was “Kathy’s show,” Lt. Choi took the stage and made it clear that DADT was “no laughing matter” but a serious threat that needed to be brought down immediately and he called on ralliers to march on the White House.
The rally at the gates of the White House was going strong (even though Joe Solomnese and Kathy Griffen didn’t attend despite promises to the contrary) and Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo handcuffed themselves to the fence in support of the thousands of LGBT service people who are being forced to lie about themselves every day. Then Robin McGehee was arrested by the secret service and the capitol police for helping the Liutenent and the Captain put on the handcuffs. The crowd cheered her and booed the police as she shouted “Get Equal!” and “Fight For Your Rights!” as she was pushed into a patrol car. 30 minutes later Lt. Choi and Captain Pietrangelo were also removed from the fence and arrested.
But the fun didn’t stop there! Get Equal activists also stormed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and performed a Sit-In in her
The 5 activists who attended the "sit-in" over ENDA in Pelosi's office are arrested.
office, demanding a vote on ENDA by the end of this month. After 4 hours, the 5 activists were also arrested.
Both Robin and the 5 activists were released without bail late last night, but Lt. Choi and Captain Pietrangelo are both still in Jail. Not much information is known yet, but they have NOT been given their phone calls yet.
I view all 8 of these people as absolute HEROES. These are people willing to risk it all in belief that all people in this country should be equal, and the US Constitution does not only apply to some.
UPDATE! Lt. Choi and Capt. Pietrangelo will be arraigned today at 1pmEST at the DC Superior Courthouse.
UPDATE! Lt. Choi and Capt. Pietrangelo plead NOT GUILTY and demand a jury trial rather than pay a $100 fine. “We do not plead guilty for equality.” “Not Guilty, Not ashamed, Not done yet.” Trial set for April 26th!
PRIDE In Utah! 
Posted by Adair on March 19, 2010 at 1:28 pm
An unfortunately loud part of me is uncomfortable with the idea of someone who was in the military doing stuff like this, since it’s against the military value of obedience and conformity, but then the rest of me is like, “What? I don’t think that blind obedience to unjust laws is a good thing–especially for military personnel!”
I agree that these folks are heroes. Part of me is uneasy with the idea of civil disobedience–if anyone can inconvenience others to make a statement, what do I think when I don’t at all agree with their cause?–but it’s the kind of thing I’d do if I had the opportunity and weren’t too afraid of accruing a criminal record. These people MADE the opportunity and did so knowing there’d be personal consequences.
Posted by ethingtoneric on March 19, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Adair-
Good points! The thing I love about our community is that there isn’t any “one-way” to achieve equality. Like the civil-rights movements 50 years ago it’s comprised of all sorts of people doing all sorts of things. Some people out there will be moved by the Martin Luther King style, some will be swayed by the Malcom X style.
Posted by johnbisceglia on March 25, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Our Personal Battles
After Dan Choi chained himself to the White House fence recently, there was an explosion of comments on the gay blogs either praising or condemning his actions.
I applaud his civil disobedience, and consider it a heroic act. To those who criticize ANY individual LGBTQ person’s actions when it comes to fighting for their own rights (like Dan Choi’s actions)……here’s a big, polite S.T.(crap).U. to y’all.
Queers are all allowed to fight our own personal battles with the government directly, regardless of how it affects “THE MOVEMENT”, esp. when we are struggling to just LIVE our lives and feel excluded and marginalized by the organizations that claim to represent us.
A Rich-Queer may not understand this position, but a Poor-Queer with no money, job, or home and a lifetime of abusive discrimination will understand why a man chains himself to a government building and demands federal accountability, draws his firearm on a I.R.S. agent to prevent any intrusion due to taxation without equality, or burns down a hate organization’s church due to their hateful, aggressive targeting of our families and children.
These acts are acts of desperation, for sure, but MANY of us are getting desperate for REAL ACTIONS that produce REAL RESULTS.
http://gaytaxprotest.blogspot.com/2010/03/our-personal-battles.html