ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today's six OFF-SET questions is Lt. Dan Choi,West Point graduate and LGBT activist.
In March 2009, Lt. Choi announced that he was gay on a cable-TV news program (Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC) and one month later, he was notified that the Army had begun discharge proceedings against him. He was one of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic. A military board discharged Lt. Choi for violation of "Don't Ask Don't Tell." He had served openly in his infantry unit for over a year while publicly pushing for the repeal of the policy.
On March 19, 2010 Lt. Choi handcuffed himself to the White House fence with fellow gay veteran Captain James Pietrangelo II. The two were arrested and spent the night in prison. They repeated the action on April 20, 2010 with four other veterans including a transgender Navy veteran, Petty Officer Autumn Sandeen. After release, Choi and Pietrangelo pleaded not guilty and a White House stay-away order was imposed until trial. In July 2010 they stood trial and all charges were dropped.
Lt. Choi has served as Grand Marshal of the San Francisco, New York City, Miami, and Wichita LGBT (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender) Pride Parades. He serves on the boards of Marriage Equality USA and the American Foundation for Equal Rights. He is a graduate of the US Army Scout Leaders Course, Air Assault School, Parachutist School, and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Harvard University.
On Saturday, May 28, 2011, you and other gay rights leaders staged a rally near the Kremlin in response to the Russian government banning a gay pride parade. First, why did the government ban the parade?
Well, I don't speak for Putin or Medvedev as much as they don't speak for my community or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Russian government's decision to silence a peaceful, non-violent expression by their citizens for six years now sends a loud message to the entire world that they oppose the openness and freedom invoked in their official speeches.
There were Russian citizens opposed to the rally. One person ripped up a picture of Elton John?
The week before our planned pride rally, a group of hateful citizens, allied with neo-Nazis, held an anti-gay demonstration in Moscow.
Their messages of homophobia spurred a small group of extremists to violence and remind the Russian people of a bygone era when Nazis turned groups of citizens against each other and sent many communities to death camps.
The several times I was punched in my face I saw both civilian and uniformed agents throwing the punches. When I was kicked I couldn't see the perpetrator. At one point I fell and temporarily lost consciousness but I remember thinking, "These civilian thugs look a lot like military dudes." It is common practice for the police to use civilian agitators to do their dirty work and it is no surprise the anti-gay demonstration had full government support.
So you and others were arrested and detained by Moscow police. What happened? Will you face charges?
No. Unlike in Washington DC, I was not charged, handcuffed, or forced to relinquish my personal effects. In the Washington DC jail, I wasn't able to keep my phone, I couldn't call a lawyer, they confiscated my West Point Ring, they tore off my American flag insignia, and they taunted me.
The Moscow police were physically harsh, and the 18 of our community members have bruises and bleeding to prove it, but the legal penalties were not as harsh as the charges I face in US federal court this summer. The Russians arrested with us will not face charges either.
You're calling on Hillary Clinton to say something about the Russian ban on this freedom of expression. Given all of the international problems the U.S. is facing at the moment, what do you want from the Secretary of State?
I demand consistency. I denounce hypocrisy. We as Americans cannot pretend that our particular form of democracy is perfect while we silence ourselves on matters of basic human dignity in Russia.
When we protest injustice abroad, we show a mirror to the foreign government in order that they might better understand the ugliness of their actions. We also show the ugliness reflected by our own government, as if the mirror were two-sided.
Our democracy is not perfect, and I am mindful that flying back toAmericadid not renew any sense of full citizenship or equality under American law for me. But I am honored to stand with Russians in solidarity against our shared oppression because our battle is for justice, and "justice is not just us."
How repressive or open is Russia to LGBT life today?
On Monday morning, while waiting at downtown Moscow intersections, five guys gave me thumbs up with broad smiles. All of a sudden I didn't feel my bruises and scars but felt a sense of great dignity.
The thousands of gay Russians who filled the Moscow clubs and bars the night we were released form jail might confuse the outside observer: most members of our community in Russia are not openly gay and they avoid controversy for fear of punishment. But as controversial as the Gay Pride Marches have been these past 6 years, they did open a public dialogue that would never have occurred if closeted gay elite strategies were the only myopic avenue for progress.
Like Americans, Russian citizens come from many different identities, but the commitment to values of integrity and honesty must always shine brighter than the values of personal gain. That being said, I predict the first government-sanctioned Pride Celebration inMoscow will bring at least a million tourists. I have a feeling that STOLICHNAYA or ABSOLUT Vodka would likely play a major role in organizing that event, as they do for so many of the celebrations in our country.
For those who have been trying to follow your military career, where is your case nowâ€"and your chances of serving again?
Don't Ask Don't Tell is still in full effect, as the bill mandated an insulting and unnecessary "certification process" which holds up full repeal until President Obama signs the certification. Soldiers are still getting fired for their honesty.
Until this administration fully repeals the law, I will not be allowed to sign up for duty. I also haven't heard from the White House whether they intend to forcibly collect or absolve my $2,500 DADT Discharge Fee.
Still, I do intend to rejoin as soon as I can, and serve in whatever capacity my country needs me, because I am proud to be an American and I am proud to fight for justice.
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