22,388,863 members doing good!
share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more
Feb 11, 2009
Amy Brian, an Iraq war veteran and a woman who has served with the Kansas National Guard for nine years, was discharged after one of her civilian colleagues reported seeing her kissing another woman in a Wal-Mart checkout line. 

The complaint was sent via several e-mails to superiors at the Kansas National Guard, whereby an investigation was started last August that ultimately led to Brian’s dismissal on Jan. 13, making her the first person to ever be dismissed from the Kansas National Guard under the Federal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DODT) policy.

According to the Associated Press, Brian, who was commended for her service, was “separated” from the Guard which resulted in her losing her job and leaving her unable to finish her master’s degree due to the loss of her education benefits provided by military service.

"Everyone … knew I was gay, and no one had a problem with it, [and] it didn't make a difference when I went to Iraq. It didn't make a difference when I drove that truck. It didn't make a difference in my ability to serve my country,” Amy Brian said following her dismissal due to being a lesbian. She went on to comment of her time in the Kansas National Guard, "I was not separated because of any type of misconduct but plain and simply because someone else had a problem with my sexuality."

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the only law in the United States of America which makes it legal to fire someone on the basis of their sexuality. A part of it that was later clarified and built on the original policy, reads:

"Sexual orientation will not be a bar to service unless manifested by homosexual conduct. The military will discharge members who engage in homosexual conduct, which is defined as a homosexual act, a statement that the member is homosexual or bisexual, or a marriage or attempted marriage to someone of the same gender." --quoted in "The Pentagon's New Policy Guidelines on Homosexuals in the Military", The New York Times (July 20, 1993), p.A14.

For more information on the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, as well as how the military has barred homosexuals from being able to receive a general discharge, please click here.

Amy Brian had returned from Iraq in October 2005 and took a job as a member of the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office, where she quickly received promotion. Her dismissal follows President Obama’s pledge to “build a case against” the DODT law that was created in 1993 by President Clinton as a compromise that would allow gay people to serve in the military after military officials rejected his out and out repeal of the ban on gay and lesbian individuals in the army, calling gays “incompatible” with troop unity.

President Obama has, in the past, been vocal on repealing the law, but has since slowed down efforts, possibly in order to avoid the mistakes that occurred during the Clinton administration which led to DODT in the first place.
 
Today, the political landscape concerning DODT, and against gay and lesbian people as a whole, is very different. A somewhat recent CNN poll suggested 79 percent of the US public favor gay people serving openly in the military, with a dramatic shift in Congressional support finding bilateral approval for a repeal, and even from within the military itself with 104 retired admirals signing their names to a call for the retirement of DODT.

This case serves to highlight the pervasiveness of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which leads gay and lesbian service people to not only stay closeted within the military itself, but to also live their civilian lives in fear of being found out, forcing them to either reside miles from their base, or to avoid being seen with their partner at all times, a measure Amy Brian failed to take and the result of which cost the Iraq war veteran and exemplary servicewoman her livelihood, her education and the life she had built for herself in service of her country. 

If you believe that gay and lesbian people should be allowed to serve openly in the military, please sign this petition to urge President Obama to follow through on his promise of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted: Feb 11, 2009 9:23am

 

 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Steve Williams
male , single
Bradford, United Kingdom
Shares by Type:
All (2286) | Blog (2286)

Showing shares tagged with: amy [show all]
SHARES FROM STEVE'S NETWORK
May
14
(0 comments  |  discussions )
KDC Solar and North Jersey Media Group Cut Ribbon on Large Solar Facilityby Staff WritersBedminster NJ (SPX) May 10, 2013The solar operation will cover more than 60 percent of the power needs at North Jersey Media Group's printing plant. KDC Sol...
May
12
(1 comments  |  discussions )
Mama's Day Cards You Won't Find at the Drugstore Society & Culture  (tags: mothersday, mothers, families, queer, transgender, immigrants, strongfamilies ) BMutiny  - huffingtonpost.com The group...commissioned a group of artis...
May
9
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The largest genocide in human history happened where? Most people would answer Germany, and the Jewish Holocaust. Actually though, the largest genocide happened in the USA, with the native American Indians, with estimates of 19 million to 100 millio...
May
8
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Official Nuclear Radiation Study; Tokyo University Hayno, R.S., et al (2013) Internal Radiocesium Contamination of Adults and Children 7 to 20 Months After the Fukushima NPP Accident as Measured by Extensive Whole-Body-Counter Surveys, Proc. Jpn....
May
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Toxic radiation accumulates in water supplies after nuclear accidents. Radiation bioconcentrates in fish that live in fresh water and salt water. Runoff of fresh water from land which has been contaminated ends up contaminating oceans, and salt wate...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
66 Atomic Bombs were exploded on the Bikini Island Atolls. Hundreds of islanders were removed from the islands, but not from harms way. One hydrogen bomb exploded near the islands, and the children played with the dust from the bomb, as it fel...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Dominion Virginia Power Selects Old Dominion University For First Rooftop Solar Power Installationby Staff WritersNorfolk VA (SPX) May 06, 2013File image. Dominion Virginia Power has selected Old Dominion University to be the first participant i...
May
5
(0 comments  |  discussions )
"Under our current law, a suspected terrorist on the FBI's No-Fly List can't board an airplane -- but they can still legally purchase guns and explosives. This loophole, known as the “Terror Gap,” is ...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Germany added more solar panels in one month, than the US did in ONE YEAR. Nearly 1/3 of Germany power output is handled by bottoms up solar energy during the middle of the day. The transition to a 100% renewable energy nation is in process. T...
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
http://www.upworthy.com/ /the-top-8-ways-to-be-tra ditionally-married-accord ing-to-the-bible?c=upw1 According to the Old Testament, which defines all of the 'rules' of traditional marriage, the above examples are all of the ways that couples can be ...

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved