Speech To The San Diego Stonewall Rally (2012)
By: Autumn Sandeen Saturday July 21, 2012 5:33 am
http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/07/21/speech-to-the-san-diego-stonewall-rally-2012/And ya' know what? WE WON! We won a victory in the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
And yet, it's an incomplete victory.
One of the ways it's incomplete is that military service for trans people wasn't impacted by the repeal. We trans people are functionally seen as monsters by the Department of Defense: If we're diagnosed as transsexual, then by regulation we're considered mentally deficient for service. If we have had surgeries to align our bodies to our true genders, then by regulation those surgeries disqualify us from service.
I knew all of this when I took to the White House Fence — that repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell wouldn't mean open service for trans people. But y'know what? Don't Ask, Don't Tell effected three subcommunities of the LGBT community, so as a transgender veteran I was glad to work by and for my LGBT community siblings. For me, if an issue is an issue for even one subcommunity of the LGBT community, then it's my issue.
