Press

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz today released the following statement recognizing October as LGBT History Month.

In recognition of the official end of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which has prohibited gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans from serving their country openly in the U.S. military, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement.

Chairman Tim Kaine commends outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her historic service to the American people as Speaker over the last four years, fighting to "to increase the minimum wage, expand college aid, enhance and improve services for veterans and boost fuel efficiency standards. Her leadership in passing the Recovery Act, Affordable Care Act, Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, expansion of health care for children, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Wall Street reform and other key legislation ensure that her term as Speaker will be remembered as a time when the foundation was established for an era of greater progress, security, justice, fairness and prosperity for the American people."

There are very few actions more praiseworthy than the decision to put one’s life at risk in order to protect the safety of one’s fellow Americans as a member of our nation’s armed forces – so it is time that we end the discriminatory practice of preventing any individual brave enough to make that decision from serving in the military on the sole basis of their sexual orientation. The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is outdated and unjustified and it is time we consigned it to the dustbin of history.