Dan Choi knew his job as a military officer would end once he came out of the closet. He knew he could lose his retirement benefits. He knew he might be forced to pay back the value of his West Point scholarship. But that was the easy part. Telling his parents was a much harder ordeal.

Salt Lake Tribune reports:
Choi recalled the conversation with his father, a Baptist minister, during a Tuesday night lecture at the University of Utah. "It's the worst sin of all!" Choi shouted, invoking his dad's deep accent as he recounted the evening he told his parents that he would not be marrying a nice Korean girl -- as they always had hoped. Yes, Choi said, coming out can be painful. But the former Army lieutenant, who made headlines when he revealed his sexual orientation on national television after serving a tour of duty in Iraq as an infantry officer, said it's the duty of gay Americans to stop hiding from hate. "It's our responsibility to tell," he said. "It is our responsibility to not accept silence." READ MORE

Dan Choi will be among the more than 30 speakers, representing the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at the October 11th National Equality March (NEM) in Washington.