Posted on 11/22/2009 5:26:32 AM PST by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at canada.com ...
I’m a bit surprised a lesbian would have such a sharp-edged jewel in that particular spot.
Daayyum guilty!
There. Problem solved. ;)
Ping! ;)
Canada can have her! Good riddance, good bye, adios. Our military will be better off without this androgynous looking “soldier”. And that blue thing stuck in her lip? Gross.
Until the tyrants in Washington take us over completely, persecution in The United States is like a paid vacation in Iran.
What’s happening to our country, Mexicans breaking in,
lesbians breaking out. What’s next? (;-)
How did she get in? Bring back the draft. Get rid of PC in the services. Reject the weak and keep the strong.
I honestly don’t know why these types of people enlist and what they expect to find in the military.
They seem to want to cause mayhem and problems rather than serving their country honorably. I’ve known of people, both men and women who were possibly homosexual, served their time and were honorably discharged. They did so without fuss, and even if they were not happy with the way they were treated or had to live in the military, they acted like adults and left without publicity.
I hope Canada keeps her...our “loss” will be their gain
Whole thing is stupid. If she told the Army she was a lesbian, she would have been discharged (abeit, not with an honorable discharge). Why desert?
The Fall of America... there it is in a nutshell.
Then she should have no trouble producing those notes as evidence.
Oh, and here's an uncropped version of that photo, along with its negative.
If I were in a combat situation and this thing jumped into my foxhole I’d probably shoot it.
Beauty and the beasts!
There goes breadfast.
Maybe she’s trying to ward off any further rug burn until she heals.
Stay in Canada, you ungrateful freak. Who cares about your sexual orientation? It is just that you are a weak, confused piece of work. Have fun at your call center job, you loser. When will you quit that complaining about something or other? Maybe you should go further north and live on an ice flow with a polar bear (before they all drown from glowbull warming).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
