Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference After House Passed Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, Chairman Barney Frank, Congressman Patrick Murphy, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Congressman Jared Polis, and Former Major Mike Almy delivered remarks at a press conference tonight after the House passed legislation to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.  Below are the Speaker's opening remarks:

"What an honor it is to share the podium with Major Almy.  Thank you, Major, for your patriotism, for your courage, and for standing up for our values.

Thank you Patrick Murphy, you have served the people of our country in the Congress and on the battlefield, and you bring your experience to bear here to pass laws, which support our values. Thank you for helping us honor our oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

"Our first responsibility as elected officials is to protect the American people.  Our oath of office is to protect and defend the Constitution.  We do so by passing laws to support that Constitution.  Major Almy and Patrick Murphy did so by putting their lives on the line for our country.  Major Almy, doing so, and then having the consequence of standing up for values that were not standing up -- when the military was not standing up for him.

"It is a happy day. In May we had a 44-vote margin, today 75 votes.  I thank Leader Hoyer for orchestrating our bringing it to the floor in this way, for Congressman Murphy for his ongoing determined, strong leadership on this issue.  I'm proud to be here with so many representatives of the outside mobilization on this issue and I see we've been joined from others.  You don't have to be straight to shoot straight.  Okay?

"Well, in any event, they're all straight shooters up here in terms of what we want to do for the American people.  It's a happy day indeed.  And I'm proud to be, again, with Major Almy and Patrick Murphy, but also with my colleagues who have worked a 75-vote majority, tripling the number of Republicans who voted for the bill the last time, reflecting the fact, as Mr. Hoyer said, that the American people, 8 in 10 in a poll today, support ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'

"So I thank everyone who made this possible -- the outside mobilization, the inside maneuvering, Mr. Hoyer's leadership, and that of others, and it's a very proud day for this Congress when we are fighting discrimination and have the power to do so.

"Thank you for giving us that power."