Knights Out: Difference between revisions
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'''Knights Out''' is an organization of [[West Point]] alumni, staff and faculty who support the rights of [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]], and [[transgender]] ([[LGBT]]) people to serve [[closeted|openly]] in the U.S. military.<ref name="KnightsOut">{{cite web|title =Knights Out|publisher=Knights Out|url=http://knightsout.org/|accessdate=2009-11-23}}</ref> |
'''Knights Out''' is an organization of [[West Point]] alumni, staff and faculty who support the rights of [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]], and [[transgender]] ([[LGBT]]) people to serve [[closeted|openly]] in the U.S. military.<ref name="KnightsOut">{{cite web|title =Knights Out|publisher=Knights Out|url=http://knightsout.org/|accessdate=2009-11-23}}</ref> |
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==History== |
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The organization was founded in March 2009, with thirty-eight graduates of the [[United States Military Academy|U.S. Military Academy at West Point]] who publicly came out, advocating an end to DADT, which bans LGBT service personnel from serving openly.<ref name="KOmission-Advocate">{{cite web|title=West Point Grads Form Gay Support Group |last=Dizon |first=Rhiza |publisher=Advocate |url=http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/03/17/West_Point_Grads_Come_Out,_Form_Support_Group/ |accessdate=2009-10-11}}</ref> |
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'''Knights Out''' was founded in January 2009 by two USMA alumni, L Paul Morris ’80, and Dan Manning ’04 and by Annapolis graduate Steve Clark Hall, USNA ’75. L. Paul Morris was the chair of [http://www.sagala.net SAGALA], the joint service academy gay and lesbian alumni network, while Dan Manning was the SAGALA USMA board representative. <ref>Knights Out press release of 3/16/2009</ref>. The organization was established to create a parallel organization to USNA Out, the LGBT alumni association of the [[United States Naval Academy]]. In March, 2009, [[Daniel Choi]], became spaokesperson for the organization and gained national attention for challenging the [[U.S. military]]'s ''[[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]'' (DADT) policy when he [[coming out|came out of the closet]] on the ''[[The Rachel Maddow Show (TV series)|The Rachel Maddow Show]]''.<ref> [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/07/dan-choi-fired-gay-arabic_n_199592.html "Dan Choi, Fired Gay Arabic-Speaking Linguist, Speaks To Rachel Maddow (VIDEO)"]</ref> |
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==Actions== |
==Actions== |
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Revision as of 05:15, 13 March 2010
Knights Out is an organization of West Point alumni, staff and faculty who support the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to serve openly in the U.S. military.[1]
History
Knights Out was founded in January 2009 by two USMA alumni, L Paul Morris ’80, and Dan Manning ’04 and by Annapolis graduate Steve Clark Hall, USNA ’75. L. Paul Morris was the chair of SAGALA, the joint service academy gay and lesbian alumni network, while Dan Manning was the SAGALA USMA board representative. [2]. The organization was established to create a parallel organization to USNA Out, the LGBT alumni association of the United States Naval Academy. In March, 2009, Daniel Choi, became spaokesperson for the organization and gained national attention for challenging the U.S. military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy when he came out of the closet on the The Rachel Maddow Show.[3]
The membership has grown from 38 members to more than 400 members and allies.[4]
Actions
To accomplish their goal to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, Knights Out asks their supporters to influence their Congress members. As of January 13, 2010, the 2009 Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA), a bill that aims to repeal DADT, had 187 cosponsors, and was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.[5] Knights Out website offers a link to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) page to contact their representatives.
The organization also supports Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s petition to repeal DADT.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Knights Out". Knights Out. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ Knights Out press release of 3/16/2009
- ^ "Dan Choi, Fired Gay Arabic-Speaking Linguist, Speaks To Rachel Maddow (VIDEO)"
- ^ Kennedy, Sean. "Officer and a Gentleman". Advocate. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- ^ H.R.1283 Cosponsors - THOMAS (Library of Congress