By Willow Belden
LARAMIE, WY (wpr) - Don't Ask Don't Tell ended today, which means that gays and lesbians can serve openly in the military. L-G-B-T groups across the country are celebrating. But a group of activists here in Laramie still aren't satisfied.
"Don't Ask Don't Tell may be dead; we won't rest till we can wed," the crowd chants.
A group of about 10 gay rights activists, carrying rainbow-colored signs, gathered in front of the court house in Laramie today. Their message: Repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell isn't enough.
Will Welch is the state leader for Get Equal Wyoming, the group that organized the rally.
"Don't Ask Don't Tell just allows one group of people to disclose their sexual orientation at their job without being fired. And I think it's obvious that everybody needs to have that right, as well as the right to get married, and many other things. And so we are here to say we need more. We need more now. We need equality now."
Welch and the other protesters said they want gay marriage to be legalized nation-wide. And they want Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
"People in most of the United States can be fired from their job just for being gay. Nobody can be fired for being Muslim. Nobody can be fired for being black or white or Asian. But people can be fired for being LGBT."
