The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that transgendered Americans such as Petty Officer First Class Autumn Sandeen, who served the Navy for two decades as a man, are hoping their day will come soon.
Sandeen told the AP she felt a pang of sorrow while watching President Obama sign the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
"This is another bridesmaid moment for the transgender community," said the 51-year-old San Diego resident.
According to the Transgender American Veterans Association, an advocacy group founded in 2003, neither the Department of Defense nor the Veterans Administration keep records of how many service members have been either discharged or treated for transgender conditions; however they estimate there could be as many as 300,000 transgender people among the nation's 26 million veterans.
Current military regulations consider men and women with gender disorders to have mental conditions that make them ineligible to serve, the AP reports. Those who have undergone genital surgery are listed as having physical abnormalities. Service members caught cross-dressing on base have been court-martialed for interfering with "good order and discipline," according to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).
This is expected to remain the status quo until the American Psychiatric Association removes Gender Identity Disorder from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as it did for homosexuality in 1973.
A statement appearing on the NCTE website a month before repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell makes a strong call for a relaxation of the rules that apply to persons with gender identity disorders. "We call on the military to also take action to repeal the policies which bar transgender servicemembers from enlisting or serving openly. Like the policies that currently limit service based on sexual orientation, the bans on service by transgender people are also based on stereotypes and a lack of accurate information."
As the Pentagon prepares to welcome openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members for the first time, the transgendered community is working toward making sure the United States joins seven other nations - Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia - that allow transgendered troops to serve openly.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
After Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, Transgendered Want Same Privileges
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Now that Congress has repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell, the policy that prevented homosexuals from serving openly in the military, transgendered groups are now clamoring for the same privileges.
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that transgendered Americans such as Petty Officer First Class Autumn Sandeen, who served the Navy for two decades as a man, are hoping their day will come soon.
Sandeen told the AP she felt a pang of sorrow while watching President Obama sign the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
"This is another bridesmaid moment for the transgender community," said the 51-year-old San Diego resident.
According to the Transgender American Veterans Association, an advocacy group founded in 2003, neither the Department of Defense nor the Veterans Administration keep records of how many service members have been either discharged or treated for transgender conditions; however they estimate there could be as many as 300,000 transgender people among the nation's 26 million veterans.
Current military regulations consider men and women with gender disorders to have mental conditions that make them ineligible to serve, the AP reports. Those who have undergone genital surgery are listed as having physical abnormalities. Service members caught cross-dressing on base have been court-martialed for interfering with "good order and discipline," according to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).
This is expected to remain the status quo until the American Psychiatric Association removes Gender Identity Disorder from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as it did for homosexuality in 1973.
A statement appearing on the NCTE website a month before repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell makes a strong call for a relaxation of the rules that apply to persons with gender identity disorders. "We call on the military to also take action to repeal the policies which bar transgender servicemembers from enlisting or serving openly. Like the policies that currently limit service based on sexual orientation, the bans on service by transgender people are also based on stereotypes and a lack of accurate information."
As the Pentagon prepares to welcome openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members for the first time, the transgendered community is working toward making sure the United States joins seven other nations - Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia - that allow transgendered troops to serve openly.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that transgendered Americans such as Petty Officer First Class Autumn Sandeen, who served the Navy for two decades as a man, are hoping their day will come soon.
Sandeen told the AP she felt a pang of sorrow while watching President Obama sign the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
"This is another bridesmaid moment for the transgender community," said the 51-year-old San Diego resident.
According to the Transgender American Veterans Association, an advocacy group founded in 2003, neither the Department of Defense nor the Veterans Administration keep records of how many service members have been either discharged or treated for transgender conditions; however they estimate there could be as many as 300,000 transgender people among the nation's 26 million veterans.
Current military regulations consider men and women with gender disorders to have mental conditions that make them ineligible to serve, the AP reports. Those who have undergone genital surgery are listed as having physical abnormalities. Service members caught cross-dressing on base have been court-martialed for interfering with "good order and discipline," according to the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).
This is expected to remain the status quo until the American Psychiatric Association removes Gender Identity Disorder from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as it did for homosexuality in 1973.
A statement appearing on the NCTE website a month before repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell makes a strong call for a relaxation of the rules that apply to persons with gender identity disorders. "We call on the military to also take action to repeal the policies which bar transgender servicemembers from enlisting or serving openly. Like the policies that currently limit service based on sexual orientation, the bans on service by transgender people are also based on stereotypes and a lack of accurate information."
As the Pentagon prepares to welcome openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members for the first time, the transgendered community is working toward making sure the United States joins seven other nations - Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, the Czech Republic, Thailand and Australia - that allow transgendered troops to serve openly.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
