The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Personnel held hearings on the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy on Tuesday. It was the first time in 15 years that the topic of gays and lesbians serving openly in the military had been discussed on such a level.

Several veterans testified about their experiences in the military. Retired Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, a gay man who was also the first soldier wounded in Iraq, Capt. Joan Darrah and Army Maj. Gen. Vance Coleman all testified in support of repealing "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (listen to their testimony).

Alva spoke eloquently about a range of topics, including the end of his career in the Marines — the day his Humvee hit a landmine. "That landmine may have put an end to my military career that day, but it didn’t put an end to my secret. That would come years later, when I realized that I had fought and nearly died to secure rights for others that I myself was not free to enjoy," said Alva. "I had proudly served a country that was not proud of me. More importantly, my experience disproved all the arguments against open service by gays and lesbians – I knew I had to share my story." (Alva’s comments to the committee are available here: PDF)

The hearing took a heated and sometimes comical turn, as Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness spoke of banning gays and lesbians from military service.

Donnelly used Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, as a reason to exclude gays and lesbians from serving their country. "Only a year ago in a Minneapolis airport, the nation was appalled to find that there were 39 men over a period of three months, one of them a US Senator, who were engaging in what I would call passive-aggressive behavior," she said.

Rep. John Kline, the only Minnesotan on the commitee, joked around with Donnelly about her comments: “I want to say just as a bit of personal state pride, we get a little bit defensive when people talk about the Minneapolis airport.”

Donnelly’s comments drew bipartisan criticism from committee members. Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., scolded her: “Would you please tell me, Miss Donnelly, why I should give one whit about this woman’s sexual orientation, when it didn’t interfere one bit with her service?”

Shays was referring to Capt. Joan Darrah, a former navy officer who almost died in the Sept. 11 attacks. "The reality is that if I had been killed, my partner then of 11 years would have been the last to know, as I had not dared to list her name in any of my paperwork or on any of my emergency contact information," she said. "It was the events of September 11 that made me realize that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was taking a much greater toll than I had ever admitted."

Democrats held the hearing as a way to jump-start to the fight to repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." The Military Readiness Enhancement Act would repeal the discriminatory policy and currently has 163 co-sponsors in the House. Minnesota Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum and James Oberstar are cosponsors.