The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) ; two-time Emmy Award-winning entertainer Kathy Griffin; and Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans will hold a public rally at noon Thursday, March 18, at Freedom Plaza ( on Pennsylvania Ave. NW between 13th and 14th streets ) in Washington, D.C. The rally is part of an ongoing campaign to build a grassroots army of advocates speaking out in the effort to repeal the military's discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ( DADT ) law this year.

"Thursday's rally is a great opportunity for us to continue the already on-going grassroots efforts that are underway throughout the country to organize and mobilize the over 70% of Americans who are in favor of repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" said Human Rights Campaign National Field Director Marty Rouse. "The millions of people who watch Kathy's show, follow her tweets and are fans of her work, are an untapped resource and this rally provides us with a public event around which to organize as we go forward with the work of building the army of grassroots advocates."

Last Saturday during HRC's Los Angeles Annual Gala, Griffin announced to the sold-out crowd that March 16-18, she would be in D.C. to try to increase grassroots attention around the effort to repeal DADT. Immediately following the dinner, Griffin continued letting her millions of fans and viewers of her Bravo hit My Life on the D-List know about the effort to repeal DADT by sending out notes on her Twitter account regarding the March 18 rally. ( Her tweets arer at www.twitter.com/kathygriffin . )

The March 18 rally will follow last week's HRC's annual lobby day, where more than 300 HRC members and supporters converged on Capitol Hill to let their member of Congress know their support for ending the military's discriminatory ban on open service by gay and lesbian Americans. During the March 4 lobby day, HRC's citizen advocates also joined U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Penn., for a press conference to draw attention to the issue. Video footage of that press conference can be viewed at www.hrcbackstory.org/2010/03/video-hrcs-dadt-repeal-press-conference-at-capitol-hill-lobby-day/ .

Last week, HRC launched a national action alert and announced details of its ongoing campaign to repeal DADT. To focus on key states where congressional support for repeal is critical, HRC has dispatched field staff to six states—Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Virginia and West Virginia, with other states to follow in the months ahead. HRC is also asking members and supporters to sign up and to join the growing network of supporters to repeal DADT. To learn more visit www.hrc.org/RepealDADT .