There were many strong speeches during the House debate on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Part 1. Part 2.

I wanted to share three highlights with you now.

Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA8) is the lead sponsor of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. He shared his personal experience: “When I deployed to Iraq as a captain with the 82nd Airborne Division, my team and I didn’t care about someone else’s sexual orientation. We cared whether everyone could do their job so we could all come home alive.”

Representative Al Green (D-TX9), a veteran civil rights advocate, is heading into his 4th term in Congress. He fought on a battlefield of a different sort: “Mr. Speaker, life has prepared me for this vote. When you have had to sit at the back of the bus, in the balcony of the movie and have had to stand in a line for colored only, then you are prepared for this vote.”

But there’s perhaps no more passionate a civil rights voice serving in Congress today than Representative John Lewis (D-GA5), who led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in what’s since become known as Bloody Sunday. His plea was simple: “Vote ‘yes’ because discrimination is wrong.”

Repeal is now before the Senate, where we need your help to make sure that the bill is taken up, passed, and sent to the President’s desk. Call now! (202) 224-3121