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SLDN, Allies Prepare to Celebrate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal in All 50 States Tuesday

For immediate release:
Monday, September 19, 2011

Contact:
Zeke Stokes: (803) 479-0439 (cell) / (202) 621-5406 (office) or zeke@sldn.org
Paul DeMiglio: (202) 621-5408 (office) or paul@sldn.org

SLDN, Allies Prepare to Celebrate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal in All 50 States Tuesday
Flagship events in Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Charleston, SC and West Hollywood will accompany 100 supporter-created events throughout the nation

(Washington, D.C.) Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) repeal supporters are finalizing preparations today for 100 Repeal Day celebrations throughout the nation to take place Tuesday when the law officially ends.  Flagship events with special guests will take place in Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Charleston, SC and West Hollywood with 100 others created by supporters and allies scheduled throughout the country.  An additional event will take place in Germany.

“The repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an historic milestone along the journey to achieving LGBT equality in America’s military, and Tuesday is a monumental day for our service members and our nation.  Through these events taking place in every state across the country, we will pay tribute to their service and sacrifice as we look forward to this new era of military service – an era that honors the contributions of all qualified Americans who have served and wish to serve,” said Army Veteran and SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis.

Below is a list of all events taking place, including a link to the online details about each celebration.

Washington D.C.
September 20, 2011: 6 until 10 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/DCEvent
K Street Lounge, 1301 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
Suggested Contribution: $20, includes open bar
Special guests:
SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis
Col. Grethe Cammermeyer
Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach
Major Mike Almy
J.D. Smith, co-founder, OutServe
and representatives from the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and the White House
Special Guest Blogger: Zack Ford of ThinkProgress.org

New York City
September 20, 2011: 7 until 9 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/NewYorkEvent
Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014
Special Guests:
Speaker Christine C. Quinn (D – District  3 – New York City Council)
Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton, West Point ’80, Executive Director of Knights Out
Katherine Miller, OutServe Board of Directors, former West Point Cadet
Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, Producers/Directors, “The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” premiering on HBO, Tuesday, September 20
Mati Weiderpass, SLDN Board of Directors, former US Army Captain
Darren Manzella, SLDN client, former US Army Sergeant

Philadelphia
September 20, 2011: 5 until 7 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/PhillyEvent
Tabu Lounge & Sports Bar, 200 S 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Special Guest:  
Fmr. Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
Garth Weldon, Managing Partner, The Prime Rib

Chicago
September 20, 2011: 6:30 until 8:30 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/ChicagoRepealEvent
Downtown Lounge Bar, 440 N State Street, Chicago, IL 60654
Special Guest:
Jim Messina, Manager, 2012 Obama Presidential Campaign

Charleston, SC
September 20, 2011: 6 until 9 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/CharlestonEvent
Taco Boy, 217 Huger Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Special Guest:
Commander Thomas C. Clark, USNR (Ret.), Member, SLDN Board of Directors

West Hollywood
September 20, 2011: 6 until 9 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/LARepealEvent
The Abbey Food + Bar, 692 N Robertson Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Special Guest:
David Cooley, Founder of The Abbey

Additional Events

Anchorage, AK
http://www.sldn.org/AnchorageEvent

Montgomery, AL
http://www.sldn.org/MontgomeryEvent

Little Rock, AR
http://www.sldn.org/LittleRockEvent

Phoenix, AZ
http://www.sldn.org/PhoenixEvent

Claremont, CA
http://www.sldn.org/ClaremontEvent

Palm Springs, CA
http://www.sldn.org/PalmSpringsEvent

Sacramento, CA
http://www.sldn.org/SacramentoEvent

San Diego, CA
http://www.sldn.org/SanDiegoEvent

San Diego, CA
http://www.sldn.org/SanDiegoRepealDay

San Francisco, CA
http://www.sldn.org/SanFranEvent

South San Francisco, CA
http://www.sldn.org/SouthSanFranEvent

Travis AFB, CA
http://www.sldn.org/TravisAFBEvent

West Hollywood, CA
http://www.sldn.org/WestHollywoodEvent

Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.sldn.org/ColoradoSpringsEvent

Denver, CO
http://www.sldn.org/DenverEvent

New Haven, CT
http://www.sldn.org/NewHavenEvent

Washington, DC
http://www.sldn.org/Jrs25th

Rehoboth Beach, DE
http://www.sldn.org/RehobothEvent

Gainesville, FL
http://www.sldn.org/GainesvilleEvent

Orlando, FL
http://www.sldn.org/OrlandoEvent

Saint Petersburg, FL
http://www.sldn.org/StPetersburgEvent

Tallahassee, FL
http://www.sldn.org/TallahasseeEvent

Atlanta, GA
http://www.sldn.org/AtlantaEvent

Kaiserslautern, Germany
http://www.sldn.org/GermanyEvent

Honolulu, HI
http://www.sldn.org/HonoluluEvent

Cedar Rapids, IA
http://www.sldn.org/CedarRapidsEvent

Des Moines, IA
http://www.sldn.org/DesMoinesEvent

Boise, ID
http://www.sldn.org/BoiseEvent

Chicago, IL
http://www.sldn.org/ChicagoEvent

West Lafayette, IN
http://www.sldn.org/LafayetteEvent

Manhattan, KS
http://www.sldn.org/ManhattanEvent

Manhattan, KS
http://www.sldn.org/KansasStateEvent

Lexington, KY
http://www.sldn.org/LexingtonEvent

New Orleans, LA
http://www.sldn.org/NewOrleansEvent

Beverly, MA
http://www.sldn.org/BeverlyEvent

Boston, MA
http://www.sldn.org/BostonEvent

Cambridge, MA
http://www.sldn.org/CambridgeEvent

Baltimore, MD
http://www.sldn.org/BaltimoreEvent

Bethesda, MD
http://www.sldn.org/BethesdaEvent

Gaithersburg, MD
http://www.sldn.org/GaithersburgEvent

Laurel, MD
http://www.sldn.org/LaurelEvent

Orono, ME
http://www.sldn.org/OronoEvent

Ann Arbor, MI
http://www.sldn.org/AnnArborEvent

Ypsilanti, MI
http://www.sldn.org/YpsilantiEvent

Minneapolis, MN
http://www.sldn.org/MinneapolisEvent

Rochester, MN
http://www.sldn.org/RochesterEvent

Saint Paul, MN
http://www.sldn.org/StPaulEvent

Kansas City, MO
http://www.sldn.org/KansasCityEvent

University, MS
http://www.sldn.org/UniversityMSEvent

Helena, MT
http://www.sldn.org/HelenaEvent

Missoula, MT
http://www.sldn.org/MissoulaEvent

Charlotte, NC
http://www.sldn.org/CharlotteEvent

Davidson, NC
http://www.sldn.org/DavidsonEvent

Durham, NC
http://www.sldn.org/DurhamEvent

Raleigh, NC        
http://www.sldn.org/RaleighEvent

Wilmington, NC
http://www.sldn.org/WilmingtonEvent

Fargo, ND
http://www.sldn.org/FargoEvent

Lincoln, NE
http://www.sldn.org/UNLevent

Omaha, NE
http://www.sldn.org/OmahaEvent

Hanover, NH
http://www.sldn.org/HanoverEvent

Keene, NH
http://www.sldn.org/KeeneEvent

Atlantic City, NJ
http://www.sldn.org/AtlanticCityEvent

Montclair, NJ
http://www.sldn.org/MontclairEvent

Princeton, NJ
http://www.sldn.org/PrincetonEvent

Albuquerque, NM
http://www.sldn.org/AlbuquerqueEvent

Las Vegas, NV
http://www.sldn.org/LasVegasEvent

Columbus, OH
http://www.sldn.org/ColumbusEvent

Oklahoma City, OK
http://www.sldn.org/OKCEvent

Tulsa, OK
http://www.sldn.org/TulsaEvent

Portland, OR
http://www.sldn.org/PortlandOREvent

Portland, OR
http://www.sldn.org/PortlandEvent

Harrisburg, PA
http://www.sldn.org/HarrisburgPA

Philadelphia, PA
http://www.sldn.org/PhillyCelebrationEvent

Pittsburgh, PA
http://www.sldn.org/PittsburghEvent

University Park, PA
http://www.sldn.org/UniversityParkEvent

Providence, RI
http://www.sldn.org/ProvidenceEvent

Columbia, SC
http://www.sldn.org/ColumbiaSC

Sioux Falls, SD
http://www.sldn.org/SiouxFallsEvent

Knoxville, TN
http://www.sldn.org/KnoxvilleEvent

Austin/ Fort Hood, TX
http://www.sldn.org/AustinFortHoodEvent

Dallas, TX
http://www.sldn.org/DallasEvent

El Paso, TX
http://www.sldn.org/ElPasoEvent

Houston, TX
http://www.sldn.org/HoustonEvent

San Antonio, TX
http://www.sldn.org/SanAntonioEvent

Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.sldn.org/SaltLakeCityEvent

Arlington, VA
http://www.sldn.org/ArlingtonVAEvent

Norfolk, VA
http://www.sldn.org/NorfolkEvent

Waterbury, VT
http://www.sldn.org/WaterburyEvent

McChord AFB, WA
http://www.sldn.org/McChordAFBEvent

Silverdale, WA  
http://www.sldn.org/SilverdaleEvent

Milwaukee, WI
http://www.sldn.org/MilwaukeeEvent

Charleston, WV
http://www.sldn.org/CharlestonWVEvent

Fayetteville, WV
http://www.sldn.org/FayettevilleEvent

Laramie, WY
http://www.sldn.org/LaramieEvent

Sarvis reiterated that SLDN will continue its fight for full equality for LGBT troops who are serving today, as well as for those qualified Americans who wish to join, after the repeal of DADT takes place on September 20, 2011.

“The work of advancing military equality marches forward after repeal. At SLDN, we will fight alongside those who may face harassment or discrimination as we oversee implementation; when necessary and timely, litigate in the courts to bring about full LGBT equality in America’s military; advocate for legally married service members to receive the same benefits as their straight counterparts; and assist veterans to correct or upgrade their discharge paperwork,” said Sarvis.

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SLDN FREE HOTLINE: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members with questions are urged to contact the SLDN hotline to speak with a staff attorney: Call 1-800-538-7418 or 202-328-3244 x100.  SLDN’s Freedom to Serve Guide, the definitive guide for LGBT service in America’s military, may be found here.  

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