American lesbian soldier seeks asylum in Canada

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Posted by Administrator in Military on September 13, 2009  |  0 Comments More from this author  |

(AFP) – 4 days ago

OTTAWA — A lesbian who deserted the US military has requested asylum in Canada, claiming she faced harassment and death threats from fellow soldiers over her sexual orientation, media said Wednesday.

Private Bethany Smith, 21, claimed she had asked the US military for a discharge after being outed by another soldier who spotted her walking hand in hand with a woman at a mall.

But she was denied because her superiors wanted to send her to Afghanistan, she told Canadian media.

In deferring her case until she returned from Afghanistan, the US military broke its so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy of discharging openly gay members, she contends.

A Canadian immigration panel rejected her refugee claim -- believed to be the first by a lesbian or gay American soldier. But she appealed Tuesday to a federal court to overturn the tribunal's decision.

According to reports, Smith claimed she was badgered daily and received more than 100 threatening notes on her dormitory door, including death threats.

Before fleeing to Canada, she served at Fort Campbell in the southern US state of Kentucky, where a gay soldier was beaten to death in 1999. She never went to Afghanistan.

Since the start of the war in Iraq, an estimated 200 US war resisters have sought asylum in Canada, and are still living in this country. None of them has yet to secure refugee status.