President Barack Obama commemorated the 40th anniversary of the birth of the modern gay rights movement by welcoming its leaders to the White House and reaffirming his commitment to their top priorities. He reminded the audience that he has called on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and reiterated his support for repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they don’t disclose their sexual orientation and/or act on it.

Investigations are being done into the raid that occurred at a gay bar in Fort Worth Texas on June 28.  This date marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riot in New York City, which is widely considered to be the start of the gay rights movement. Seven patrons at the Rainbow Lounge Bar were arrested using “incredibly excessive and brutal force.” One patron, Chad Gibson, is reportedly in intensive care for head trauma that allegedly occurred when he was thrown to the ground by police.  Gibson spoke with CBS News 11, saying “It shouldn’t have happened to me and it shouldn’t happen to anyone else.”

A panel of N.Y. National Guard officers ruled that Lt. Dan Choi, the Army National Guardsman and Arabic translator, should be discharged from the military because he announced he was gay on national television. Choi has become a national spokesman against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and has recently been showing up at gay rights rallies. Choi has declared that they are firing him: “for nothing more than telling the truth about who I am.” However his discharge is not definite as it must still be approved by the commander of the U.S. 1st Army.