being able to be honest about who you were with the men you served with, what was going through your mind today as you watched the bill signing? first, almost disbelief. and, of course, great joy. as if somebody had just taken a big load off of my shoulders. to finally be able to be open about serving my country, to stop lying, which is against every principle as children we re taught by our parents, by teachers, by schools. yet gays and lesbians do this all the time. and it ain t easy. and this was it was just it was wonderful. commander dunning, you were in the room today and you got to experience that moment. what was it like in that room? i know that usually the white house does the signings in the oval office or a small room in the white house, but it looked like they had the biggest auditorium they could find in washington today. well, the energy was electric, for sure. there were hundreds of people
no incidents. that s the most striking figure na that report, in some ways a game changer. mr. phillips, i ll give you the last word. you ve watched the politics of this over a long period of time. i wonder if you ever really thought that you would see the day that we re seeing today. i didn t think it would happen in my life time, no. oh. i think we ll have some difficulties, some things to overcome, but it will be it will make us stronger just like the integration that president truman did of black forces into the armed services. it will be a positive, a positive thing that happens. professor manning marable, commander zoe dunning and mr. phillips. thank you. today s signing just one of many successes for this president and this congress in just two short years. [ sneezes ] you re up next.
service members. the last generation to serve in fear. as the first generation to serve openly in our armed forces, you will stand for all those who came before you, and you will serve as role models to all who come after. and i know that you will fulfill this responsibility with integrity and honor just as you have every other mission with which you ve been charged. and you need to look no further than the servicemen and women in this room, distinguished officers like former navy commander, zoe dunning. marines, marines like eric alva,
don t tell was on the table? yes, that s correct. what had happened in that? well, every year we faced opposition because some of the other soldiers, particularly officers, would say, why do you have to march behind a gay banner? it s okay to be gay, but we don t want you to advertise it. they say this is part of who we are and we re proud of it. and even one year a man dashed out from the crowd and slashed the gay banner. the police arrested him right away. i don t know what happened to him. but for people to understand that just to be who you are is part of your life, and most people can do that openly. and gays and lesbians up till now have not been able to do that. commander dunning, you re one of the few people, perhaps the only person, who has been able to do that. a successful challenge to your
it s okay to be gay, but we don t want you to advertise it. they say this is part of who we are and we re proud of it. and even one year a man dashed out from the crowd and slashed the gay banner. the police arrested him right away. i don t know what happened to him. but for people to understand that just to be who you are is part of your life, and most people can do that openly. and gays and lesbians up till now have not been able to do that. commander dunning, you re one of the few people, perhaps the only person, who has been able to do that. a successful challenge to your discharge under don t ask, don t tell led to that. you are in a unique position to tell us what the next six months or the next year or two as this policy is implemented is going to look like based on your experience being a woman in the armed forces. that s a great point. my experience serving as an open