Lesbian U.S. soldier wins bid for asylum

Canwest News Service (Canada) ^ | November 20, 2009 | Janice Tibbetts

[Salman]

OTTAWA — A lesbian soldier who deserted the U.S. army won a key court victory Friday when a judge ordered the refugee board to reconsider her failed asylum claim and take into account compelling evidence that she was persecuted and that her sexual orientation could mean stiffer punishment for going AWOL.

Federal Court Justice Yves de Montigny's order for the board to consider a gay U.S. soldier as a credible refugee candidate is believed to be a first, said a spokesman for the U.S. military.

"I have never heard of anybody attempting to do that before," said army spokesman Lt.-Col. Christopher Garver.

Pte. Bethany Smith, 21, will have another chance to argue her case for staying in Canada, rather than face deportation and a possible court martial in the U.S. for fleeing the military base at Fort Campbell, Ky., two years ago.

"I did a happy dance when I heard," said the deserter, now an Ottawa call centre worker who has adopted the name Skyler James.

Smith, who says she was outed by another soldier who spotted her walking hand-in-hand with a woman at a shopping mall, contends in court documents that she was badgered daily, saddled with extra work by her superiors and received more than 100 threatening notes on her dormitory door, including a death threat.

Smith says that she sought a discharge from the army — under the U.S. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that permits openly gay soldiers to leave — but that she was told the paperwork would not be done until after she returned from a scheduled deployment to Afghanistan.

She said she considers herself among the hundreds of U.S. war resisters who have fled to Canada as "conscientious objectors."

[Yorlik803]

She didnt think that she would have to fight when she joined the army. She just joined for the money and other “Perks”
She should have stuck it out for when Obama gets rid of the dont ask dont tell, she would have been free to munch all the carpets she could.

[BykrBayb]

In a manner of speaking, yes.

[ladyvet]

Too bad the military can't just drop this rug munchin’ coward off outside the gate of some forward post in Afghanistan with her dishonorable discharge papers and tell her “buh bye”.

[MaxMax]

Good luck with that free Canadian health care Skank.

She'll be crying to come back to the US in a few years.
Sniff, cry, grumble, I made a mistake, please forgive me because I'm gay
and I'm special, I have needs..

[BykrBayb]

I bet she’d be ready to switch sides then.

[MaxMax]

QB.

[BykrBayb]

What is she thinking? "I know more about bull____ than you ever will, and I got better things to do with it than spread it on the crops."

[MaxMax]

She's hateful because she has an affirmative action education.
Just like Zer0.

[BykrBayb]

I was going to comment about them getting their diplomas from a Cracker Jack box, but that would be racist, wouldn’t it?

[The Comedian]

I didn't even know that Andy Dick was an AWOL lesbian. Geez, what else am I ignorant of?

[Rebelbase]

Canadian Statue of Liberty motto:

“Bring me your gays, lesbians and religious fanatics....”

[DocH]

Good riddance Butch.

[Androcles]

I second that...

[whatisthetruth]

I honestly don’t know why these types of people enlist and what they expect to find in the military.

"I'll never tell!"

[Mr. Silverback]

An asylum is exactly what she and this crazy judge need. Yeah, the testimony of one person (with jail on the line if she is deported, gee, why would she lie?) that there was a vast conspiracy across multiple units and levels of commmand to screw one person over for her sex life is "compelling evidence." Yeah, a murder tangentially related to someone's only-sort-of-gay lifestyle 10 freakin' years ago means Fort Campbell is like the Elephant's Graveyard, only for lesbians. Yeah, right.

Oh, and...

[RichInOC]

I think even the “fabulous” Marvelous Mark of today would agree on that.

[Mr. Silverback]

What in the bloody world could that schoolteacher be saying to prompt that look?

[jmaroneps37]

Ah yes our gooooood friends up north always willing to help us out by encouraging our deserters.
BTW anyone who thought Smith wasn’t a dyke needs glasses.

[Mr. Silverback]

She claims that she filed discharge paperwork, but was told it wouldn’t be processed until after her tour in the Stan.

[OneWingedShark]

You, BykrBayb, have managed to make Mrs. Obama look attractive in that pic; good work!

:)