HRC BackStory Liveblogging the DADT hearing

HRC Back Story

Liveblogging the congressional hearing on Don't Ask Don't Tell

Today at 2:00 p.m. EST, Eric Alva, the first American soldier
wounded in Iraq, will testify before Congress to speak out against
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which forces people in the military to be
dishonest about their personal lives or face losing their jobs.

With so many GLBT Americans serving courageously in Iraq and
Afghanistan, momentum is rapidly building against this unfair, unsound
policy. The law is exacting huge costs to the nation's best interests,
even as it has dwindling public support:

• Nearly
  800 specialists with critical skills have been fired from the military
  under DADT, including several linguists who speak Arabic.
• U.S. taxpayers have
  paid $250 million to investigate and root out patriotic servicemen and
  women under DADT and as much as $1.2 billion in lost recruiting and
  training costs.
• More than two-thirds
  of civilians support allowing gays to serve openly in the military. And
  despite the fear-mongering about unit morale, nearly 3 in 4 troops say
  they are personally comfortable serving side-by-side with gays and
  lesbians

We'll be liveblogging the hearing starting at 2pm on this thread, so check back for updates....