An openly gay Iraq War veteran on Wednesday said he was “angry,” hurt and “disgusted” by President Obama’s decision to appeal a court ruling ending the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Lt. Dan Choi, who was forced to leave the Army after publicly announcing he was gay in 2009, applied to re-enlist Wednesday. Choi has become the face of the movement to allow gays to serve openly, and he strongly expressed his dismay with the administration in an MSNBC interview.
“I’m angry,” Choi said. “I respect my president. I love Barack Obama. And that is why when I hear him doing these things, i just cannot help but be so disgusted. It’s — it’s really — it’s really hurtful to hear that the president says he wants to get ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed but the courts are doing their job.”
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ordered the military to permanently suspend the policy that says gays and lesbians are not permitted to serve openly last week, a ruling the Obama administration has sought an emergency request to overturn.
Choi was re-accepted into the Army Wednesday at a recruiting center in New York City and recruiters are being instructed to accept prospective applicants despite their sexuality.
Obama has said that he ultimately supports the repeal of the policy, but prefers to end it in Congress instead of through the courts. The Senate struck down a measure in September that would have ended “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
UPDATE: The court granted Obama’s request for a freeze on the judge’s ruling Wednesday afternoon, leaving “don’t ask, don’t tell” in place for now.