News and Events => Political and Legal News => Topic started by: Shana A on October 06, 2011, 09:14:18 AM Return to Full Version
Title: The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell has left unfinished work
Post by: Shana A on October 06, 2011, 09:14:18 AM
Post by: Shana A on October 06, 2011, 09:14:18 AM
The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell has left unfinished work
The Department of Defense begins to address questions affecting LGBT military personnel
by Scott Henry
http://clatl.com/atlanta/lgbt-gay-lesbian-military-dont-ask-dont-tell/Content?oid=4077934 (http://clatl.com/atlanta/lgbt-gay-lesbian-military-dont-ask-dont-tell/Content?oid=4077934)
Those problems might seem like easy lifts compared to the changes pursued by Monica Helms. A Navy vet who served on submarines in the '70s, Helms transitioned from man to woman in the late '90s. As head of the Atlanta-based Transgendered American Veterans Association, Helms lobbies for transgendered persons to be able to serve openly in the military, a policy that was unaffected by the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
[...]
Helms uses a broader definition of "transgendered" than most folks might be accustomed to, including not simply people who've undergone sex-reassignment surgery or hormone therapy, but anyone who self-identifies as the other gender.
"If a male soldier is presenting as a woman off-duty and off-base, and someone turns him in, he can be kicked out of the service," Helms explains.
The Department of Defense begins to address questions affecting LGBT military personnel
by Scott Henry
http://clatl.com/atlanta/lgbt-gay-lesbian-military-dont-ask-dont-tell/Content?oid=4077934 (http://clatl.com/atlanta/lgbt-gay-lesbian-military-dont-ask-dont-tell/Content?oid=4077934)
Those problems might seem like easy lifts compared to the changes pursued by Monica Helms. A Navy vet who served on submarines in the '70s, Helms transitioned from man to woman in the late '90s. As head of the Atlanta-based Transgendered American Veterans Association, Helms lobbies for transgendered persons to be able to serve openly in the military, a policy that was unaffected by the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
[...]
Helms uses a broader definition of "transgendered" than most folks might be accustomed to, including not simply people who've undergone sex-reassignment surgery or hormone therapy, but anyone who self-identifies as the other gender.
"If a male soldier is presenting as a woman off-duty and off-base, and someone turns him in, he can be kicked out of the service," Helms explains.