Lesbians In The News

[Kobi]

A Letter About Dying, to My LGBT Communities

by Jeanne Cordova, September 23, 2015

This letter is meant as a notification and thank you to the thousands of members of the national lesbian community whose activism, lives, and Ioves have touched my own. Especially those dykes who have become family and siblings of choice over the last 40 years. Yes, the rumors are true, I have metastasized to-the-brain cancer. I am dying from it in my cerebellum.

I have had cancer since 2008. Colon cancer. For the first four years I brushed it off, as I’ve done many times with physical illness or difficulties. I continued my activism with the Lesbian Exploratory project and I finished my third book, When We Were Outlaws. The cancer came back in 2013. Metastasized first to my lungs and then to my cerebellum. Yes, my head. With brain and back-of-the-neck cancer it has been a downhill experience the last three years, with multiple operations, radiation and Chemo. This February I had Chemotherapy. Among a host of side-effects, it’s given me “chemo brain,” which amounts, basically, to “getting stupid.” Just saying. This month’s so-called side effect is peripheral neuropathy. That’s from Chemo, they say, and it makes your feet, fingers and hands feel tingling and numb like when you fall asleep on your leg or hands. Only, it doesn’t go away. I can’t stand up without holding onto a wall or background support. I can’t feel where my feet are. Yeek! I freak myself out talkin’ about it! How about you?

A guru once told me, “We die in increments, one piece at a time.” She meant one part of our body suddenly ceases to work, an elbow or a tongue. Seemingly for no reason, like a worn out knee. This came as a surprise. I thought we get old or die…suddenly, and all at once. Not so!

Many of us have gotten cancer and died. I write publicly to the women who have defined my life because I want to share this last journey, as I have shared so much of my activist life with you. You gave me a life’s cause. It is wonderful to have had a life’s cause: freedom and dignity for lesbians. I believe that’s what lesbian feminism is really about, sharing. We built a movement by telling each other our lives and thoughts about the way life should be. We cut against the grain and re-thought almost everything. With just enough left undone for our daughters to re-invent themselves. Death should be a part of life. Not hidden, not a secret, something we never said out loud.

Being an organizer and journalist in the lesbian, gay, feminist, and women of color communities—and loving it–has been the focal point, of my life. It has been a wild joyous ride. I feel more than adequately thanked by the many awards I have received from all the queer communities, and through all the descriptions and quotes in history books that have documented my role as an organizer, publisher, speaker, and author. Thanks to all of you who have given me a place in our history.

From the age of 18 to 21, I painfully looked everywhere for Lesbian Nation. On October 3, 1970, a day I celebrate as my political birthday, I found Her in a small DOB (Daughters of Bilitis) meeting. That’s when my life’s work became clear. Shortly thereafter I became a core organizer for two national lesbian conferences, one of which re-directed my path to create The Lesbian Tide newsmagazine, a national paper of record, as the historians say, for the lesbian feminist generation. And on it went for multiple decades of marches and later online organizing–this time intersectionally, to include all of me and my Latina identity.

Somewhere in the middle of all that I, somewhat accidentally, invented the Gay & Lesbian Community Yellow Pages, a first for our by-then national tribe. This Los Angeles 400-page guide that helped us still-half-hidden people to connect, politically I thought initially, with businesses and professionals that spoke to us within our own identities. That it did, but this directory and lucky timing in life-long real estate, also enabled me to fulfill an early personal vow to give back half of my estate to our movement. I do this with Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (out of New York City) and other organizations. I believe it so critical to our transforming movements to leave our estates to our LBGTQ charities, not some errant heterosexual relation we hardly know! More on this political news and views to follow. (*1)

I believe that cancer or any terminal disease is the luck of the draw. As my mother used to say of my Aunt who was also a nun of 90 years, “At that age, you got to die of something.” I have read the obituaries in Lesbian Connection (*2) these last years as they chronicle the passage of my 2nd wave generation. The one message that rings out clearly is that so many, many in these pages were activists who articulated social justice in their local or regional spaces. Many dykes making change. So many of you or loved ones have gone through death rituals these last years. It makes me feel like one-of-the gang … again!

I really don’t know when or if I can write again. Mental competency and all that. The choice appears to be living with chemo forever off and on, or dying. I will make that choice soon enough. In the meantime, please write or speak your own truth in living with dying (*3) to your lesbian newspaper or my blog below(*4).

I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have loved another woman-identified-woman, who have loved me, or have loved Lesbian Nation. I wish I could still write about this kind of love more eloquently. Lesbians do have a special love for one another. I have felt it many times when women are with each other. I am happy and content to have participated in it for most of my very full and happy life. Least you be too sad, know that I have this kind of love not only with my family of choice, but with a straight arrow spouse with whom I have journeyed these last 26 years.

https://www.frontiersmedia.com/front...dbye-photos/3/

[*Anya*]

Thank you Kobi for posting this:

"A Letter About Dying, to My LGBT Communities

by Jeanne Cordova, September 23, 2015"

As someone that came out in the late 70's and also has read all of her books; I feel as though I know her.

This makes me profoundly sad.

The "old timers" are dying out and the younger lesbians will never know the early days of marches, protests and sisterhood in the same way.

I recently found an old picture of my first women's festival in the early 80's. There were so many bare-breasted women surounding a drumming circle- I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Jeanne was one of many women that preceded me and made it easier for me to come out as a lesbian. I have never regretted doing so.

If you have not read her third book, "When we were Outlaws", you will love it.

Bye to Jeanne,

from another resident of Lesbian Nation.

[Kobi]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned an Alabama judicial ruling that had refused to recognize a gay woman's parental rights over three children she adopted with her lesbian partner and raised from birth.

The court took the relatively unusual step of reversing the Alabama Supreme Court without hearing oral arguments in the case. Cases are decided in that fashion when a lower court ruling is considered to be particularly counter to Supreme Court precedents. None of the eight justices dissented.

The adoptive mother, identified in court papers as V.L, said she was overjoyed with the ruling.

"When the Alabama court said my adoption was invalid and I wasn't their mother, I didn't think I could go on. The Supreme Court has done what's right for my family," she said in a statement.

The court said in an unsigned opinion that the Alabama court was required to recognize the woman's parental rights because they had been legally endorsed by a court in Georgia.

The ruling said the Alabama court's interpretation of the law was "not consistent" with prior Supreme Court decisions. Under the U.S. Constitution, state courts are required to recognize judgments issued by courts in other states.

The Alabama Supreme Court, led by outspoken conservative Chief Justice Roy Moore, has a history of hostility to gay rights. For example, it dragged its feet in implementing the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling last June legalizing gay marriage nationwide.

The Supreme Court had already intervened in the case once before. In December, the court ordered that the Alabama ruling be put on hold while the woman filed a formal appeal of Alabama Supreme Court's September ruling.

Lawyers for the woman say the Alabama ruling had "effectively stripped V.L. of parental rights over the children she had raised since they were born."

V.L. was formerly in a relationship with a woman identified as E.L., who is the birth mother of the three children, a 13-year-old and 11-year-old twins.

In 2007, a court in Georgia granted V.L.'s petition to adopt the children in a move that E.L. agreed to at the time. The couple split in 2011 and disagreed over custody arrangements.

V.L. filed papers in Alabama seeking joint custody. Lower courts ruled in her favor before the state's high court ruled in favor of her former partner.

The state appeals court said it did not have to endorse the Georgia court's adoption order. But the Alabama Supreme Court said that the Georgia court did not have jurisdiction to issue the adoption order.

The two women were not married.

story

[*Anya*]

Lesbians Suing New Jersey Over Law Requiring Heterosexual Sex Before Insurance Covers Medical Procedure

August 12, 2016 By Allen Clifton

A great way to see how utterly ignorant parts of our nation have been (and continue to be) is to look at some older state and local laws – many of which are still, technically, in practice today. Such as a law in New Jersey concerning insurance companies and the legal requirements for covering fertility treatments for couples.

As reported by NJ.com: State law requires large insurance providers to cover costly fertility treatments for patients medically unable to have children. The couples take issue with how the law defines infertility, which includes the inability to become pregnant after one or two years of unprotected sex, depending on a woman’s age.

Basically the law requires any female who wants her health insurance to cover fertility treatments to have sex with a male for one to two years before they will approve paying for the procedure. Which poses a slight problem when you’re a lesbian.

Because for a lesbian to abide by this law means that they would be required to have sex with a gender to which they aren’t sexually attracted. Well, at least if they wanted their health insurance to cover fertility treatments — which is a completely and totally ridiculous requirement.

Well, two lesbian couples are challenging the New Jersey law as unconstitutional for essentially preventing same-sex couples from receiving fertility treatments based on sexual orientation. While the law doesn’t specifically ban health insurance companies from providing fertility treatments to lesbian women, being that lesbians aren’t attracted to men, it sets a “rule” that’s clearly discriminatory toward the LGBT community.

To its credit, Horton Blue Cross Blue Shield released a statement that seemed to be trying to one-up the idiocy of the 2001 New Jersey law: Horizon covers infertility services equally regardless of sexual orientation. We interpret the 2001 New Jersey law defining infertility in a gender and orientation neutral manner and our coverage standard complies with federal non-discrimination requirements.

Members unable to conceive due to medical or biological reasons are covered for the specific infertility benefits included in their policy. Horizon is committed to equality, values our LGBTQ members, and is sensitive to their unique healthcare challenges and needs. We regularly review our standards and procedures to ensure parity and fairness for all of our members. So, the health insurance company is claiming that it is “committed to equality” and “values” its LGBT members — yet doesn’t seem to think that requiring lesbians to have sex with men for one to two years prior to approving fertility treatments is pathetically wrong and a gross violation of their rights.

At what point in any other situation — anywhere — would requiring anyone to have sex with someone they’re not sexually attracted to and/or don’t want to have sex with be an acceptable requirement for approving a medical procedure? What I would like to see is Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield answer is this: If they’re not discriminating against same-sex couples, and they care about equality, then how, exactly, would a lesbian couple be approved for fertility treatments since they don’t have sex with males?

I get that their argument is that they’re simply “interpreting the law,” but by ignoring the reality that lesbians don’t have sex with men, you choose to ignore the fact that this law is highly discriminatory. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield has the ability to do the right thing here, but they’re simply choosing not to, using this antiquated law as their excuse to discriminate.

This entire situation is simply asinine. In a normal world where reality mattered, New Jersey lawmakers would quickly move to repeal this outdated law which would pave the way for same-sex couples to be treated equally, or Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield would do the right thing by using common sense in these matters. Instead, we’re looking at a state where Governor Chris Christie certainly won’t allow this law to be repealed and the insurance company is hiding behind this law because they simply don’t want to pay for something they don’t have to — even if that means outright discriminating against homosexuals.

This is a great reminder that, even though it’s 2016, we still have a long way to go in the fight for true equality for the LGBT community.



Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/l...ual-sex-video/

[homoe]

Kristen Stewart, currently promoting her Woody Allen flick Cafe Society and the sci-fi movie Equals opposite Nicholas Hoult, finally spoke about her private life. She is very much in love with her girlfriend and former personal assistant, Alicia Cargile.

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by homoe

Kristen Stewart, currently promoting her Woody Allen flick Cafe Society and the sci-fi movie Equals opposite Nicholas Hoult, finally spoke about her private life. She is very much in love with her girlfriend and former personal assistant, Alicia Cargile.

I wonder if they got married if she would be Kristen Cargile < too sweater'ish lol Alicia Stewart would be better on a mailbox. lol

[homoe]

Originally Posted by ~ocean

I wonder if they got married if she would be Kristen Cargile < too sweater'ish lol Alicia Stewart would be better on a mailbox. lol

Then I would think of Kitty every time I heard that name..lol

[*Anya*]

Federal court rules against Georgia lesbian fired for being gay

By Patrick Saunders

March 10, 2017 6:53 pm Atlanta, Georgia, Today in Gay Atlanta

The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday afternoon affirmed a lower district court’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit of Jameka Evans, a Savannah security guard who was forced to leave her job because she is a lesbian. Attorneys from Lambda Legal, who are representing Evans in the case, say they will now seek a rehearing by the full panel of 11 judges of the Eleventh Circuit.

The case, Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, is the latest Title VII case, in which LGBT and progressive legal groups argue that discrimination based on their client’s sexual orientation should be ruled a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which includes a provision that prohibits discrimination based on the sex of an individual. The Eleventh Circuit agreed with Lambda Legal’s argument in 2011 that the Georgia General Assembly violated Title VII when Vandy Beth Glenn was fired for being transgender.

Evans filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court of Georgia in April 2015, arguing that Georgia Regional Hospital violated Title VII by discriminating against her because of her sexual orientation and her nonconformity with gender norms of appearance and demeanor. The district court dismissed Evans’ complaint, arguing that Title VII doesn’t protect employees from such discrimination. Lambda Legal filed an appeal with the Eleventh Circuit last January and then argued their case at a hearing before a three-judge panel last December.

Judge William Pryor, concurring with Friday’s majority opinion and disagreeing with the 2011 opinion he joined in the Glenn case, said, “Because a claim of gender nonconformity is a behavior-based claim, not a status-based claim, a plaintiff still ‘must show that the employer actually relied on her gender in making its decision.’”

Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum argued in the dissent, agreeing with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and several district courts that discrimination against a lesbian by an employer because she fails to meet their view of what a woman should look or act like is sex discrimination, and therefore a Title VII violation.

“I also note that logic is on my side,” Judge Rosenbaum said. “Of course, the concurrence is free to ignore my analysis rather than respond to it, but that doesn’t make it go away.”

Lambda Legal said this case is not over yet.

“This is not the end of the road for us and certainly not for Jameka,” said Greg Nevins, employment fairness project director for Lambda Legal in a statement. “Keeping your job shouldn’t depend on whether or not you pass for straight.

There is no way to draw a line between sexual orientation discrimination and discrimination based on gender nonconformity because not being straight is gender-nonconforming, period. 90 percent of Americans believe that LGBT people should be treated equally in the workplace. The public is on the right side of history, and it’s time for the Eleventh Circuit to join us.”

https://thegavoice.com/federal-court...ian-fired-gay/

[*Anya*]

Lea Delaria announced the breakup of her engagement to girlfriend Chelsea Fairless by posting on Instagram.

Lea wrote that "...our split is amicable. Please exclude us from the tragic and basic celebrity breakup narrative. We were happy together for four years and will remain in each other's lives. In fact, we look forward to finding new ways to torture each other".

BTW, OITNB is back for a new season on Netflix on June 17th.

Thanks to Lesbian Connection, May/June, 2017 edition.

[homoe]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

Lea Delaria announced the breakup of her engagement to girlfriend Chelsea Fairless by posting on Instagram.

Lea wrote that "...our split is amicable. Please exclude us from the tragic and basic celebrity breakup narrative. We were happy together for four years and will remain in each other's lives. In fact, we look forward to finding new ways to torture each other".

BTW, OITNB is back for a new season on Netflix on June 17th.

Thanks to Lesbian Connection, May/June, 2017 edition.

I remember the days when you didn't have to go on social media and announce a breakup..you both simply went your own way and that was that!

[*Anya*]

Rush Limbaugh on the Attack of the Lesbian Farmers

The far-right radio host thinks the Agriculture Department's outreach to rural LGBT people is a conspiracy to destroy conservative communities.

BY TRUDY RING

http://www.advocate.com/media/2016/8...esbian-farmers

[Kobi]

The first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church can stay on the job for now, but she is subject to a disciplinary review that could lead to her removal, the top church court ruled Friday.

Bishop Karen Oliveto's civil marriage to another woman violates church law that bars clergy who are "self-avowed practicing homosexuals," the Judicial Council said. However, a decision over whether she can remain in the position must come from a separate disciplinary process, the court ruled.

Oliveto was elected last year to lead a Denver-area church region that is part of the Methodist Western Jurisdiction, which has rejected the denomination's position that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." Within minutes of her election, a challenge was filed by the Oklahoma-based South Central Jurisdiction, leading to Friday's ruling.

The case is the latest chapter in an intensifying fight over LGBTQ recognition that is fracturing the 12.8 million-member denomination — the third-largest faith group in the U.S. Earlier this week, bishops announced a special 2019 meeting of its top legislative body, or General Conference, expressly to address church law on sexuality and find ways the denomination can avoid schism.

LGBTQ advocates in the church have stepped up pressure to lift prohibitions on gay clergy. Bishops have conducted same-sex weddings in defiance of church policy and dozens of LGBTQ clergy have come out, risking being defrocked. Evangelical Methodists, who have gained strength in the denomination in part through growth of Methodist churches overseas, have responded by pushing to enforce church policies. The court said Friday that bishops who consecrate an openly gay bishop were considered in violation of Methodist law and also subject to church discipline.

The Methodist policy making body has upheld the church's stand on same-sex relationships since 1972, even as other mainline Protestant groups, including the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), have approved same-sex marriage.

The ruling Friday was made on a 6-3 vote. Oliveto said she felt "grateful" for the chance to remain as bishop as she and other church leaders study what the decision means for her future. Bruce Ough, president of the Methodist Council of Bishops, said the decision would not ease "the disagreements, impatience and anxiety" in the church, but he appealed to church members to stay unified.

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-o...m_npd_nn_fb_ma

[*Anya*]

Leon high-schoolers crowned a gay couple prom king and queen last month, a first in the school’s 185-year-old history.

To the two girls — Lindsey Creel and Brie Grimes, seniors who have been dating for three years — winning prom king and queen was not about the titles, but about helping others and raising awareness about LGBTQ issues.

“It feels good to know some of the things we’ve been a part of can help others going through tough experiences, in a positive way,” Brie said. “I needed someone in my life to show me that it would work out — when I was first going through this years ago. But I didn’t have that.”

“I hope that people will look at this and more will begin to think that it’s okay to be supportive of the LBTQ community,” Lindsey added. “Leon often talks about change… This is a good example for younger students there.”

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/new...ueen/83799032/

[*Anya*]

LGBT
The Story Behind This "Long Live The Lesbians" Brick That's All Over The Internet

"You never really know the impact that your life has on the world until you hear about things like this."

Posted on May 19, 2017, at 10:16 a.m.

Sarah Karlan

BuzzFeed News Reporter
At Russell Sage College, a women's college in Troy, New York, students often have the opportunity to purchase and engrave a brick which will become a physical part of the campus for years to come.

According to the school's website, bricks can showcase "names, memorable dates, class years, small graphics and more."

Thanks to the internet, one brick in particular has taken on a life of its own. Its message is simple and direct: "Long live the lesbians!"

"I go to a women’s college," the caption of the photo reads. The image was taken and posted to Tumblr by a former student.

"We have a walkway where bricks can be purchased by alumnae. Most just say names or class years/mascots. But this one. This one is special. It speaks to me."

Clearly, the brick spoke to a lot of people. The original photo has now been shared over 300,000 times and has been re-shared in various forms since the first photo of it was posted three years ago.



Thanks to the internet (and alumni Facebook pages) the original bricklayer herself, a Russell Sage '00 alum named Rebecca Borello, came forward.

[*Anya*]

[A. Spectre]

Meet Crystal Griner, one of the Capitol police officers who stopped the gunman yesterday.


5 facts about Crystal:

1. The 2 Capitol Officers Are Being Hailed as Heroes by President Trump & Others for Stopping the Gunman.

2. Griner Graduated From Hood College, Where She Was a ‘Ferocious Athlete.'

3. Griner Was a National Honor Society Member in High School & a Biology Major in College.

4. The President & First Lady Visited Griner & Griner’s Wife in the Hospital & Brought a Bouquet of Flowers.

5. Griner & Bailey Reacted Rapidly, Confronting the Shooter & Likely Saving Countless Lives.


Here she is in her basketball days. She was doing her job of protecting men who see her as second class, maybe even a third class.

[Kobi]

Niners assistant coach Katie Sowers publicly came out Tuesday, making her the first openly LGBT coach not only in the NFL but all of men's professional sports.

The 31-year-old is also just the second woman to become a full-time coach in the league, after Kathryn Smith was on the Bills' staff last season.

“No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are,” Sowers, a lesbian, told Outsports. “There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that do not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation.

“The more we can create an environment that welcomes all types of people, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, the more we can help ease the pain and burden that many carry every day.”

Sowers, who played in the Women's Football Alliance, started as a scouting intern for the Falcons in 2016 and built a rapport with then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. When Shanahan was hired to become San Francisco's head coach this season, he added Sowers as an intern over the summer and then brought her on full time.

"She did a really good job for us in Atlanta,” Shanahan told the San Jose Mercury News earlier this month. “She’s done a real good job here. She helps [wide receivers coach/passing game specialist] Mike LaFleur out just with some rotations. She helps our quality controls with all the stuff they have to do. She’s a hard worker. You don’t even notice her because she just goes to work and does what’s asked and because of that she’s someone we would like to keep around.”

Sowers also thanked Falcons assistant GM and mentor Scott Pioli on Facebook for giving her a chance last season, for his "passion for equal opportunity" and "opening doors and for breaking down walls in the NFL."

She said she will serve as an offensive assistant this season.

"The most fulfilling aspect is having the ability to impact the lives of these young men chasing their dream of playing in the NFL, as well as serve as a role model for young girls who might happen to see me following my passion," she wrote in an e-mail to Outsports. "I am a strong believer that the more we can expose children to a variety of different opportunities in life, the better chance they have of finding their true calling."

[*Anya*]

Lesbian mother who lost custody of her three children because of sexuality wins them back after long legal battle

Meka Beresford 6th September 2017, 2:06 PM

A mother who lost her children after coming out as a lesbian has been granted full custody after a lengthy legal battle.

Chavie Weisberger was formerly part of a strict Hasidic community. After she came out and divorced her husband in 2009 she lost custody of her three children.

Weisberger from Brooklyn, New York, was at first given partial custody. However, she lost any custody of her children after her ex-partner, Naftali Weisberger sued her.

The judge ruled that her sexuality meant that she was not complying with a formerly agreed religious upbringing clause.

The two became embroiled in a lengthy legal battle as Naftali accused Chavie of “radically” changing her lifestyle.

The judge said the couple’s divorce agreement made it so he had to “consider the children’s religious upbringing as a paramount factor in any custody agreement”.

The ruling meant that Chavie was only allowed to have supervised visits with her children and she had to keep her sexuality hidden from the two youngest children.

Chavie appealed the ruling last month and the appeals court said the judges original ruling lacked “sound substantial basis”.

She has now been granted full custody but must still practice full religious observance.

Michael Stutma, a top divorce lawyer, said that the complex case “really shines a light on the tensions that exist between the secular world an insular religious community”.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/09/06...-legal-battle/

[*Anya*]

Lesbian veteran, 90, expelled from Air Force in '55, finally gets her 'honorable discharge'

“I’m still trying to process it,” military veteran Helen Grace James said upon receiving the long-awaited news.

by John Paul Brammer / Jan.18.2018 / 9:57 AM ET




A FedEx delivery arrived at Helen Grace James' door on Wednesday. It was a message from the U.S. Air Force. She called two of her closest friends to come be with her before she opened it, and they arrived 20 minutes later.

Once she opened it, she received the good news: The military had upgraded her discharge status to "honorable." James had been waiting for this for more than six decades.

"I'm still trying to process it," she told NBC News. "It was both joy and shock. It was really true. It was really going to be an 'honorable discharge.'"

A FedEx delivery arrived at Helen Grace James' door on Wednesday. It was a message from the U.S. Air Force. She called two of her closest friends to come be with her before she opened it, and they arrived 20 minutes later.

Once she opened it, she received the good news: The military had upgraded her discharge status to "honorable." James had been waiting for this for more than six decades.

"I'm still trying to process it," she told NBC News. "It was both joy and shock. It was really true. It was really going to be an 'honorable discharge.'"

For James, now 90, it has been a long journey to this moment of vindication. "It's hard to take in," she said. "I'm wondering if I'm in a dream or a wish."

On a cold winter night in 1955, light from a flashlight flooded into James’ car just as she was reaching in the backseat for her sandwich. Investigators had followed her vehicle to the wooded area near Hempstead Harbor in New York, where she was eating with a friend.

James, then in the Air Force, had suspected she was being followed that night. She had been subjected to intense scrutiny for weeks by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which was investigating service members suspected of being gay. They had even followed her into a lesbian dance club once.

“It was a place called Bagatelles,” James told NBC News. “People were screened as they went in, but the OSI somehow were able to get in and harass me there. They followed me into the latrine. It was scary. It was intense.”

James, who hails from rural Pennsylvania, enlisted in the Air Force in 1952. Her record during her three years of service was impeccable. She’d received positive performance evaluations and had no disciplinary problems. She’d been promoted from radio operator to crew chief and achieved the rank of Airman Second Class.

But while stationed in Roslyn Air Force Base in New York, she came under investigation by the OSI. A few days after that night near Hempstead Harbor, she was arrested in her barracks and interrogated for hours.

She said the OSI threatened to out her to her family if she didn’t sign a document. So she did, without reading it, effectively ending her military career then and there. She was discharged as “undesirable” with no severance pay, insurance or other benefits.

She found herself having to make her own way in life. She hadn’t spoken to her family, who lived in Pennsylvania on the dairy farm where she'd grown up. “I couldn’t face them,” she said. She couldn’t access the benefits of the GI Bill to help her through school. She moved to California, where she resides today, and worked and borrowed money to pay for her education.

James was just one victim of what has come to be known as the “Lavender Scare,” a period of time contemporaneous with the “Red Scare” of the 1950s, when suspected communists were purged from the U.S. government.

Anti-gay sentiment commingled with the panic. During the fever pitch of McCarthyism, homosexuality was associated with communism: a scheme to undermine the American family and American values, an immoral act that left who those participated in it susceptible to blackmail.

In the 1960s, James was able to successfully upgrade her status from “undesirable” to “general discharge under honorable conditions.” She said she tried to move on with her life from there but was still met with obstacles due to her status.

“I tried to get USAA coverage for insurance, and they said 'No, you can’t be a member, because you don’t have an honorable discharge,'” she recalled. “I [couldn't] be buried in a national cemetery either."

James said her less-than-honorable discharge status was always on her mind. "It’s never out of your scope of thought," she said.

That's why on Jan 3, at the age of 90, James decided to sue the Air Force to have her discharge status upgraded to "honorable." Prior to finding out the Air Force had granted her upgrade, James said an "honorable discharge" would hold both tangible and symbolic value for her.

“It will make me feel like I’ve done all I can to prove I am a good person,” she told NBC News on Tuesday, “and that I deserve to be a whole civilian in this country I love.”

Elizabeth Kristen, a senior staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work and the director of its Gender Equity & LGBT Rights Program, represents James. She said getting a veteran's status upgraded can typically be "a pretty lengthy process."

“When 'don’t ask, don’t tell' was repealed, the right thing to do would have been to automatically upgrade the discharge," Kristen explained. But that didn't happen.

Kristen said thousands of LGBTQ people discharged due to their sexual orientation still struggle with the hurdles James has encountered. “There are hundreds of benefits provided to our veterans, but depending on your discharge status, you can be locked out of them,” she said.

These benefits include access to the GI Bill, veteran home loans, health care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a burial in a national cemetery.

Matt Thorn, president and CEO of OutServe-SLDN, an advocacy organization for the LGBTQ military community, said the process for having one's discharge status upgraded could certainly be improved, adding "the burden of providing information falls heavily on the veterans themselves."

Over the last three years, Thorn has worked with Lambda Legal to fight President Donald Trump's transgender military ban and with Congressman Mark Pocan, Democrat of Wisconsin, on the Restore Honor to Service Members Act, which would essentially wipe the slate clean for anyone who was discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation.

Thorn said the military is reluctant to embrace this legislation, because there could be people “for whom their sexual orientation was just one thing of a series of things that that qualified them for discharge.”

“They don’t want to wipe the slate clean, because there might be some people who were rightfully discharged,” he said. “That’s why they have the individualized process. But could it be improved upon? Absolutely.”

In a statement provided to NBC News, Air Force spokesperson Kathleen Atanasoff said each case requires the Air Force to convene a group of subject matter experts to conduct a complete historical review of the member's case file, which requires time.

"The volume of applications has increased substantially over the past five years, which can make the 10-18-month administrative timeline challenging," Atanasoff wrote in an email. "The Board of Military Corrections is dedicated to tackling this through increasing efficiencies in their process and finding ways to expedite the process as much as possible."

Following Wednesday's message from the Air Force, James is now awaiting her official discharge paperwork. Kristen said once the paperwork is completed, the likely scenario is that an agreement will be reached between James and the Air Force to dismiss her recently filed lawsuit.

Until then, James plans to savor the good news for which she waited more than six decades.

"The Air Force recognizes me as a full person in the military," she said, having done "my job helping to take care of the country I love."

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...y-gets-n838516

[DapperButch]

How fantastic! Thanks for posting!

Originally Posted by *Anya*

Lesbian veteran, 90, expelled from Air Force in '55, finally gets her 'honorable discharge'

“I’m still trying to process it,” military veteran Helen Grace James said upon receiving the long-awaited news.

by John Paul Brammer / Jan.18.2018 / 9:57 AM ET




A FedEx delivery arrived at Helen Grace James' door on Wednesday. It was a message from the U.S. Air Force. She called two of her closest friends to come be with her before she opened it, and they arrived 20 minutes later.

Once she opened it, she received the good news: The military had upgraded her discharge status to "honorable." James had been waiting for this for more than six decades.

"I'm still trying to process it," she told NBC News. "It was both joy and shock. It was really true. It was really going to be an 'honorable discharge.'"

A FedEx delivery arrived at Helen Grace James' door on Wednesday. It was a message from the U.S. Air Force. She called two of her closest friends to come be with her before she opened it, and they arrived 20 minutes later.

Once she opened it, she received the good news: The military had upgraded her discharge status to "honorable." James had been waiting for this for more than six decades.

"I'm still trying to process it," she told NBC News. "It was both joy and shock. It was really true. It was really going to be an 'honorable discharge.'"

For James, now 90, it has been a long journey to this moment of vindication. "It's hard to take in," she said. "I'm wondering if I'm in a dream or a wish."

On a cold winter night in 1955, light from a flashlight flooded into James’ car just as she was reaching in the backseat for her sandwich. Investigators had followed her vehicle to the wooded area near Hempstead Harbor in New York, where she was eating with a friend.

James, then in the Air Force, had suspected she was being followed that night. She had been subjected to intense scrutiny for weeks by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which was investigating service members suspected of being gay. They had even followed her into a lesbian dance club once.

“It was a place called Bagatelles,” James told NBC News. “People were screened as they went in, but the OSI somehow were able to get in and harass me there. They followed me into the latrine. It was scary. It was intense.”

James, who hails from rural Pennsylvania, enlisted in the Air Force in 1952. Her record during her three years of service was impeccable. She’d received positive performance evaluations and had no disciplinary problems. She’d been promoted from radio operator to crew chief and achieved the rank of Airman Second Class.

But while stationed in Roslyn Air Force Base in New York, she came under investigation by the OSI. A few days after that night near Hempstead Harbor, she was arrested in her barracks and interrogated for hours.

She said the OSI threatened to out her to her family if she didn’t sign a document. So she did, without reading it, effectively ending her military career then and there. She was discharged as “undesirable” with no severance pay, insurance or other benefits.

She found herself having to make her own way in life. She hadn’t spoken to her family, who lived in Pennsylvania on the dairy farm where she'd grown up. “I couldn’t face them,” she said. She couldn’t access the benefits of the GI Bill to help her through school. She moved to California, where she resides today, and worked and borrowed money to pay for her education.

James was just one victim of what has come to be known as the “Lavender Scare,” a period of time contemporaneous with the “Red Scare” of the 1950s, when suspected communists were purged from the U.S. government.

Anti-gay sentiment commingled with the panic. During the fever pitch of McCarthyism, homosexuality was associated with communism: a scheme to undermine the American family and American values, an immoral act that left who those participated in it susceptible to blackmail.

In the 1960s, James was able to successfully upgrade her status from “undesirable” to “general discharge under honorable conditions.” She said she tried to move on with her life from there but was still met with obstacles due to her status.

“I tried to get USAA coverage for insurance, and they said 'No, you can’t be a member, because you don’t have an honorable discharge,'” she recalled. “I [couldn't] be buried in a national cemetery either."

James said her less-than-honorable discharge status was always on her mind. "It’s never out of your scope of thought," she said.

That's why on Jan 3, at the age of 90, James decided to sue the Air Force to have her discharge status upgraded to "honorable." Prior to finding out the Air Force had granted her upgrade, James said an "honorable discharge" would hold both tangible and symbolic value for her.

“It will make me feel like I’ve done all I can to prove I am a good person,” she told NBC News on Tuesday, “and that I deserve to be a whole civilian in this country I love.”

Elizabeth Kristen, a senior staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work and the director of its Gender Equity & LGBT Rights Program, represents James. She said getting a veteran's status upgraded can typically be "a pretty lengthy process."

“When 'don’t ask, don’t tell' was repealed, the right thing to do would have been to automatically upgrade the discharge," Kristen explained. But that didn't happen.

Kristen said thousands of LGBTQ people discharged due to their sexual orientation still struggle with the hurdles James has encountered. “There are hundreds of benefits provided to our veterans, but depending on your discharge status, you can be locked out of them,” she said.

These benefits include access to the GI Bill, veteran home loans, health care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a burial in a national cemetery.

Matt Thorn, president and CEO of OutServe-SLDN, an advocacy organization for the LGBTQ military community, said the process for having one's discharge status upgraded could certainly be improved, adding "the burden of providing information falls heavily on the veterans themselves."

Over the last three years, Thorn has worked with Lambda Legal to fight President Donald Trump's transgender military ban and with Congressman Mark Pocan, Democrat of Wisconsin, on the Restore Honor to Service Members Act, which would essentially wipe the slate clean for anyone who was discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation.

Thorn said the military is reluctant to embrace this legislation, because there could be people “for whom their sexual orientation was just one thing of a series of things that that qualified them for discharge.”

“They don’t want to wipe the slate clean, because there might be some people who were rightfully discharged,” he said. “That’s why they have the individualized process. But could it be improved upon? Absolutely.”

In a statement provided to NBC News, Air Force spokesperson Kathleen Atanasoff said each case requires the Air Force to convene a group of subject matter experts to conduct a complete historical review of the member's case file, which requires time.

"The volume of applications has increased substantially over the past five years, which can make the 10-18-month administrative timeline challenging," Atanasoff wrote in an email. "The Board of Military Corrections is dedicated to tackling this through increasing efficiencies in their process and finding ways to expedite the process as much as possible."

Following Wednesday's message from the Air Force, James is now awaiting her official discharge paperwork. Kristen said once the paperwork is completed, the likely scenario is that an agreement will be reached between James and the Air Force to dismiss her recently filed lawsuit.

Until then, James plans to savor the good news for which she waited more than six decades.

"The Air Force recognizes me as a full person in the military," she said, having done "my job helping to take care of the country I love."

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...y-gets-n838516