Transgender Vets a Hidden Population (xpost from Veterans)

[unhappycamper]

Transgender Vets a Hidden Population
February 22, 2009
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

In a city that prides itself on respect for military veterans, scorn is a fact of life for former Army captain Erin Russ.

Neighbors gawk when she takes out the trash. At local malls, teenagers titter and hiss as the strapping ex-infantry officer shops for cashmere and heels.

Even simple errands can be a source of angst for Russ, who was born a man but now lives as a woman.

Decades after former Soldier Christine Jorgensen stunned 1950s America by undergoing a sex change, a small army of veterans in similar straits has quietly sprung up in Tucson and around the country.

Officially, the Pentagon bans transsexuals -- those who believe they were born with the wrong male or female parts -- from serving.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/transgender-vets-a-hidden-population.html

[Jamastiene]

1. These are people who served this country and fought for the rights

of those rude, hateful people who are now scorning them. There is something wrong with that picture. We really need to stop and take a look at how our society treats people.

K&R