Trans service members, veterans still face discrimination
Posted by Seth Bracken on Sep 20, 2011
http://qsaltlake.com/2011/09/20/trans-service-members-veterans-still-face-discrimination/ (http://qsaltlake.com/2011/09/20/trans-service-members-veterans-still-face-discrimination/)
As the queer community celebrates the repeal of the policy banning gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, many transgender veterans and service members are experiencing a bitter-sweet emotion. The ban on transgender service members is still in place, barring many Americans from serving their country in the military.
Mattie Leyden, who served in the Marine Corps from 1989 to 1993 and was on the ground in the first Gulf War, said she is ecstatic for her gay and lesbian friends, but laments that the repeal could not be completely inclusive. While serving, Leyden, who is a transsexual woman, was in the closet and terrified of being found out she was different.
"I grew up in the '70s and '80s. I didn't know what a transsexual was," Leyden said.