Military has first openly trans soldier
Army Sgt. Shane Ortega has become the first openly transgender individual in the military, according to a Washington Post item.
Ortega is a helicopter crew chief in the Army's 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. Having him serve the rest of his career as a man would require a significant change in Pentagon rules, which require that transgender troops be discharged from military service, usually on medical grounds.
According to a press release from the American Civil Liberties, Ortega has offered the following comment: "My commitment to serving this country runs deep. I have been a team and squad leader, a crew chief, and a machine gun section chief. I have been on over 400 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and fought side-by-side in foxholes and remote operating bases.
"As I fight for my country in foreign lands, all I want it is to be able to serve openly while keeping the job that I love. I will continue to fight this fight for the 700,000 transgender veterans that have gone before me who were forced to choose between serving their country and being true to who they are."
An estimated 15,500 transgender people serve in the military, according to the Williams Institute, a legal think tank that studies sexual-orientation and gender-identity issues. The Pentagon will not disclose how many have been discharged.
The Washington Post article is at www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transgender-in-the-military-a-pentagon-in-transition-weighs-its-policy/2015/04/09/ee0ca39e-cf0d-11e4-8c54-ffb5ba6f2f69_story.html .
Obama wants end to conversion therapy
President Obama has called for an end to conversion therapy, which is aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of youth.
In a statement posted alongside a WhiteHouse.gov petition begun in honor of the late transgender youth Leelah Alcorn, Obama condemned the practice, which some socially conservative organizations and religious doctors support. The petition has received more than 120,000 signatures in three months.
Obama is supporting the ban of the practice on the state level, but will not call for a federal law.
Pro-LGBT organizations applauded the development. Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director Hayley Gorenberg said, "This is a critical step in the fight to end these cruel and discredited practices. So-called 'ex-gay therapy' devastates LGBT people and their families, and we commend the president for speaking out against these dangerous and discredited practices."
National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell said, "Today, our president made clear that we can and must do better. Every LGBT child deserves to live with full dignity, free from shame, embraced for who they are. Today brings us one step closer to that moment."
AAFP weighs in on blood donation
The American Academy of Family Physicians ( AAFP ) recently submitted a letter of support for the Food and Drug Administration's ( FDA's ) proposed change to the blood-donor deferral period for men who have sex with men.
AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder wrote, in part, "I am writing to express support of your proposal to change the blood donor deferral period for men who have sex with men. As expressed in our letter to the committee in 2010, the AAFP supports standards that are based on sound scientific evidence.
"There is a critical need for blood donations to ensure that we can continue to meet this demand. The current standards excluding men who have ever had sexual contact with another man since 1977 is not scientifically justifiable and excludes a large population of potential donors."
The AAFP represents 115,900 members in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, as well as internationally.
