Since President Obama took office in January, 287 members of the American military have been discharged for being gay. Many activists and gay rights supporters are left wondering what happened to Obama’s campaign trail promise to be a “fierce advocate” for the LGBTQ community.

Yesterday, Iraq-veteran-turned-Democratic-Congressman, Patrick Murphy, went to Congress alongside LGBTQ members of the military to push the lawmakers to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the policy that prevents openly gay troops from serving in the military.

In the last 15 years, 12,000 service members have been kicked out of the military for being gay.

Rep. Murphy was in D.C. to kick off a “Voices of Honor” tour. The goal of the tour is to get support for the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would get rid of the law that started the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.

This new act would let service men and women serve in the military without having to hide their sexuality.

Murphy said overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is long overdue and added that “We can not afford to wait any longer…Now is the time to change this.”

Even though political heavyweights like Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have openly admitted that the policy should be changed on some level, there are many who want to keep the law in place. A few months ago, 1,000 retired officers signed a letter pushing Obama to keep the law in place.

Murphy was in front of Congress today, but there is no actual timeline for when Congress will debate the bill yet.

The good news? President Obama said he will sign the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” if Congress decides to do away with the policy. Below, check out what he had to say on the issue last month.

What can you do to speed up the process? Let your representatives know if you want to see the end of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

Then, check out ten more ways to support gay rights.