Last Friday-Friday the 13th for the second time this year-it was bitterly windy and snow flurries decorated the capital lawn as if it were closer to winter break than spring. The weather however did not deter a hundred or so people-including several GW Lambda Law members-from gathering on the Capital lawn waiving signs reading "Freedom to Serve" and "Lesbian Rights" as part of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN)'s rally to end Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).

The rally lasted from 1:00 pm until shortly after 2:00 pm and involved multiple speakers relaying personal stories of how DADT had negatively impacted their lives. The bulk of the speakers were veterans-both gay and straight-who had directly experienced DADT during their time in service. There were also speakers from SLDN, from Mayor Fenty's office and even DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Attendees proudly shouted that they hailed from states as far as California and Georgia and as close to home as Virginia.

Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty sent a sympathetic envoy in the form of enthusiastic Clarence Fluker from the mayor's GLBT Affairs Office. Fluker was one of the first speakers and helped set an optimistic tone pledging Fenty's support in repealing DADT. He went so far as to proclaim March 13th SLDN Day in the District from this point forward.

Fluker was followed by an SLDN rally organizer and a University of Vermont Law School Professor who both battled the deteriorating weather conditions with crowd-involving chants. The SLDN organizer started a chant that reappeared throughout the rest of the rally: "What do we want?" "Freedom to serve!" "When do we want it?" "Now!"

Vermont Law Professor Jackie Gardina riled up the rally-goers asking, "What does Congress need for a stronger America?" The answer of course: "Lift the ban."

The audience also chimed in periodically invoking thoughts of a President who has repeatedly announced his opposition to DADT with shouts of "Yes We Can!"

President Obama's vocal opposition to DADT and his request to Congress to present him with a bill to repeal the policy have manifested in California Democratic Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher' Military Readiness Enhancement Act. Currently there are some 120 co-sponsors and SLDN is hoping to get more involved. It will take 218 House votes and 60 Senate votes to repeal DADT.

To get the votes needed, before the rally SLDN organized a lobbying day setting up meetings with participants and their Congressional representatives. 2Ls Katie Taylor and Navah Spero represented GW Lambda Law in this lobbying effort.

This was Spero's first time visiting a Congressional office and she says it was more productive than she expected. She visited eight offices from both sides of the aisle-five of which accommodated face time with a Congressperson or Congressional Aide. Spero says, "As a law student it was really interesting to be a part of this aspect of the [legislative] process. I was lobbying with two former service members who had been kicked out or asked to resign under DADT and their partners. Their personal stories seemed to affect some of the aides. There's obviously no way to tell how much effect these types of lobby days really had. There were between seventy-five and one hundred people participating in the lobby day, and if we convinced even four or five representatives or senators to vote for repeal, then I think it was a great success."

Taylor echoes Spero's sentiments finding the day a new and surprisingly successful experience. She says she was moved by being able to participate in the lobbying day alongside men and women who had served the US only to be discharged because of their sexual orientation: "As a gay woman, I've been bothered by DADT, but mostly on an ideological level. I didn't have any personal experience with it. Meeting these veterans really brought home to me the true cost of the policy, both from a national security/military readiness standpoint and from a personal standpoint. I feel really committed to putting forth even more effort to end this policy."

But we at George Washington don't have to look far to find DADT's far reaching effects: Recently the University has found itself lambasted in Don't Ask Don't Tell headlines when it discharged Freshman Navy ROTC member, Todd Belok after being outted by fellow NROTC members. With the policy affecting more and more people it seems inevitable that we will hear more about Tauscher's bill over the next few months.

DC Congressional Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton was one of the final speakers at the rally. She declared pounding the podium that she hoped next year we would be gathered in celebration of DADT's abolition rather than as lobbyists. Norton summed up the feeling of momentum that marked SLDN Day on Capitol Hill shouting "I'm done asking and I'm done telling!" Spero and Taylor cheered through the cold alongside other rally-goers and you couldn't help feeling there was a change in the air.