Sheila Jackson Lee: “It is moving to hear so many members of the United States military who have served to come to the floor and honor the…”

“It is moving to hear so many members of the United States military who have served to come to the floor and honor the flag and the Constitution. I am not that fortunate to have served in the military, but I have been fortunate enough to travel amongst them, from Kosovo to Bosnia to Albania to Iraq and Afghanistan and places within those nations. If I have observed anything, I've observed men and women who understand the Constitution and take great pride to be on the front lines to be able to say I live in a country of the land of the free and the brave. So I ask today for my colleagues to be brave and to be free, to unshackle themselves of stereotypes and to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell and vote for the rule and the underlying bill. Do it in the name of my constituent, a young man by the name of Seaman Provost, who had the unfortunate circumstances, I believe, of being considered someone who should not be in the United States Navy. So I would call upon those who believe in the Constitution, who understand the values of the human rights campaign of which I had the privilege of receiving notice from, that we all are created equal. It is time now to bust this unholy alliance that suggests that men and women whose lifestyles may be different do not have a heart of gold and love the red, white, and blue. It is time now for America to be America. Let us vote for this rule and the underlying bill.”