Niki Tsongas: “Yesterday marked the end of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. For 18 years, it forced thousands of servicemen…”

“Yesterday marked the end of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. For 18 years, it forced thousands of servicemen and -women from our Armed Forces and discouraged countless other patriotic Americans from enlisting. The policy weakened our military by removing highly skilled, trained, and capable servicemembers from the ranks at a time when we were sending our men and women in uniform on multiple deployments to fight two wars. Today, our country is stronger because we all benefit from a military that takes advantage of all the talents our Nation has to offer. This policy ended because of the work of many, including my predecessor, Congressman Marty Meehan, who introduced the first bill in the House of Representatives to repeal this policy. Our servicemen and -women are, first and foremost, Americans protecting freedom throughout the world. Today, at last, all these brave people no longer have to hide who they are in order to serve their country. ____________________”