Lee Reinhart, Veteran Discharged Under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Re-enlists In Military (VIDEO)

Story by Erica Demarest, courtesy of the Windy City Times:

Discharged veteran Lee Reinhart made history Oct. 24 when he became the first known openly gay man in Illinois to reenlist in the U.S. Armed Forces since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

"We should be proud of Lee and proud of our country," said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who administered Reinhart's reenlistment oath. "Dr. King had it right: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' This is our country getting it right."

Reinhart served in the U.S. Navy from 1995 to 1999. After Sept. 11, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard but was quickly discharged under "don't ask, don't tell." Reinhart spent the next decade working with Quigley and fellow activists to achieve repeal.

"My earliest memories of him are testifying in front of groups like this about why this matters, and why he wanted to serve," Quigley shared. "It was voices like yours, Lee, that helped change policy to make our country greater."

Read the whole story.

Comments

[Stan Cunningham]

02:02 PM on 10/26/2011

Glad i am long gone from the military!

[Atwill]

11:27 AM on 11/12/2011

we are also glad you are no longer in the military. no one wants an Unamerican scum like you in the military.

[gaydood]

02:14 PM on 10/25/2011

Cool Man ! Best of luck to You !!!!

[knightoftheroundtable]

01:23 PM on 10/25/2011

Good for you Lee. Now if some of these boisterous (anti gay) straight folk would enlist I would consider them to be good Americans in stead of blow hards.