ATLANTA — Following is a statement from Danny Ingram, National President of American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), on yesterday’s full certification of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Act of 2010:

America is not a great nation because of our weatlh, though we are certainly among the most wealthy nations in the world. America is not great because of our power, though we have the most powerful military in human history. America is great and unique among all the nations of the earth because of our undying devotion to the fullness of freedom, the idea that every citizen, no matter how vast our differences, is entitled to the same equal rights as every other citizen. On September 20, 2011, when the repeal of DADT takes effect, a group of Americans, once the victims of discrimination by the very guardians of our nation’s liberty, will be discriminated against no more. On that day, all Americans will witness our own evolution as the United States becomes a more free society. On that day, “we the people” will take a further step towards our collective destiny as the most free, equal, and diverse people in human endeavor.

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Atlanta, GA – Certification of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal is now official with the announcement by the White House this afternoon that President Obama, Defense Secretary Panetta, and Chairman Mullen have certified that the repeal of the DADT law will not harm US military readiness. The law will now officially end in 60 days, sometime in September. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members will then officially be able to serve with integrity and honor along with other patriotic volunteers in our American armed forces.

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ATLANTA, GA – American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) joins Servicemembers United Executive Director and AVER Life Member Alexander Nicholson in applauding today’s order issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifting its own stay of a lower court’s injunction barring enforcement of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. This move once again renders “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unenforceable by the Pentagon.  Nicholson was the sole veteran plaintiff on the case spearheaded by the Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT political organization.

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ATLANTA: On Thursday April 7th the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee held an oversight hearing on the ongoing DADT repeal implementation. The service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force were asked to testify before the committee and answer questions. From the opening remarks of the ranking majority member of the Committee, and the tone of the questions, it was clear that there had been an expectation that the service chiefs would express the same reservations and or opposition to allowing open gay service in our armed forces as they did early in 2010 at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings. They didn’t.

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American Veterans For Equal Rights (AVER), with chapters across America, has been serving the needs of the nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender veterans since 1990, and advocating for full equal rights for our veterans and patriotic volunteers serving in our armed forces. AVER applauds the Obama Administration’s decision to stop defending the discriminatory Defense of Marriage ACT (DOMA).

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ATLANTA – To commemorate the end of the United States military’s nearly ninety year policy of discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual military service members, and to honor senior LGBT veterans for their many contributions to our great nation and our community, American Veterans for Equal Rights will institute free Lifetime Membership to all veterans age 80 and over. AVER wishes to grant this privilege to our LGBT seniors, a group which has often been undervalued by our community despite their struggles and sacrifices to forge the freedom that gay people experience today.

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