ATLANTA—American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), the nation’s only all-volunteer LGBT Veterans Service Organization, applauds the passage of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010. AVER acknowledges the courage, commitment, and determined leadership of President Barack H. Obama in fulfilling his promise to repeal the DADT law that harmed the United States military, endangered its mission, and jeopardized the lives of American service members by removing critical battlefield skills from the global war on terror.

AVER further acknowledges the leadership of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the members of both parties in recognizing the ban against gay and lesbian personnel as a civil rights issue that undermined the mission of the United States military and dishonored the service of all armed forces personnel by requiring dishonesty as a prerequisite for service by America’s fighting men and women. AVER especially wishes to acknowledge the thoughtful leadership of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, whose courageous and honest statements from the heart were crucial in restoring the integrity and honor of our nation’s military forces by exposing a law which so clearly stood as an affront to the Constitution of the United States of America, to which he and every member of the armed forces have sworn an oath to defend.