Political Quotes

“I'm proud to come before this body today to celebrate the end of the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. For too long, American service men and women selflessly fought to protect our freedoms without receiving the same freedoms and protections in return. Under this flawed policy, we dismissed 14,000 patriots from our forces, and we turned away countless more Americans who simply wanted to volunteer to defend the country that we share. Today our Nation shows the world that we can rise above prejudice and fear and take a long overdue step towards protecting our servicemembers and reducing discrimination in America. But I am sad to say that this weekend, we received a terrible reminder that our work is not done. A 14-year-old boy from my community who was teased by his classmates about his sexual orientation took his own life. This heartbreaking tragedy was needless and should be a reminder to all of us that there are many more like Jamey Rodemeyer who are made by some to believe that it's not okay to be who they are. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of how far we've come, but I know that there remains a long road ahead of us. I am committed to continuing this fight for full equality for all Americans and implore my colleagues to do the same. ____________________”