Patrick Murphy: The Right Man at the Right Time

Patrick Murphy, the Iraq War veteran and two-term congressman from Pennsylvania who "don't ask, don't tell" repeal activist Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach recently called "the right man at the right time to take on this battle," has not given up politics despite a narrow loss in the 2010 election. (He was one of 63 House Democrats to lose their seats.) The former West Point constitutional law professor and current partner in the Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild is vying to become the first Democratic attorney general in the state in three decades.

"When I ran for Congress I went through three pairs of shoes. And now I'm going to go through three sets of tires on my Ford," said Murphy, one of several key figures in the repeal featured in the HBO documentary The Strange History of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"that premieres Tuesday night. (See the documentary trailer below.)

Murphy sponsored the repeal bill in the House and aggressively lobbied fellow members to follow his lead because he said it was the right thing to do, even if it meant risking their jobs in Congress. He will celebrate the day his and others' efforts finally pay off at a Philadelphia event sponsored by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, and he spoke with The Advocate on the official death of the policy set for Tuesday.

The Advocate: Last week two of your former colleagues asked the Pentagon to delay repeal. What was your reaction?
Patrick Murphy: It's pretty disappointing that they're going to turn a blind eye toward the military commanders, toward the American public, and the men and women in uniform. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Speaking of which: Center for Military Readiness founder Elaine Donnelly called repeal "a shaky house of cards that is about to collapse."

Well, you know what makes our country great is that we allow different voices. But it never ceases to amaze me how desperate the far right wing continues to be.

It seems like the consensus on repeal is that September 20 will be as much a nonevent as it is a historic day. But there are ongoing concerns of discrimination. Are you concerned for gay service members moving forward?
I want to be clear that the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" was an incredible step for equality for all Americans in the military. I think the White House was on top of it, and I think leaders like [Defense Department general counsel] Jeh Johnson and [Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs] Douglas Wilson will go down in history as American heroes and patriots who fought for justice.

But we're not done.... There's not a week that goes by that I don't hear from a soldier telling me what's going on and asking me for my advice on how they should handle certain situations. I'll continue to play a role with the military on this issue; we have to be vigilant.

Earlier this month, oral arguments before the 9^th circuit were held in the Log Cabin Republicans lawsuit against DADT. The government has asked the court to consider the case moot. Log Cabin contends it's still relevant. Should the appeal continue?
It's been a couple of years since I taught constitutional law at West Point. I'll defer to the judicial branch on that one.

Are you surprised that some GOP presidential candidates are saying that they'd reinstate the policy you worked to repeal on the Hill?
I've been surprised and generally disappointed that some of these [candidates] can just pick and choose what parts of the Constitution they believe in. Maybe next they'll try to repeal the equal protection clause.

What was the most challenging point in the congressional repeal battle for you?
The death threats against my family. As someone who has a wife and two little kids -- Maggie and Jack -- I was, what it is the right word? It was infuriating. But it made me work that much harder.

Two years ago, you talked to this magazine about "a battle buddy in one of the toughest courses in the Army [who] got kicked out because he happened to be gay" -- only to be replaced by someone who "couldn't carry his lunch." Have you stayed in touch with this person over the years?
Yes, I have. And I think our country would have been in much better hands had he been allowed to serve openly. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. But at least now that sad chapter of American history is in the past.