WASHINGTON, D.C. – In Wednesday’s first ever Veterans Awards Ceremony, “Mission Complete” presented SPARTA with the top award in the category of LGBT Veterans. The other four categories were: Veterans Mental Health, Veterans Community, Women Veterans, and Homeless Veterans. Over five hundred organizations were nominated, and narrowed down to three finalists in each category. Winners…
Today, faith leaders across denominations gathered outside of Grace Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, in demonstration of the broad religious support for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), writes Maureen McCarty on the HRC Blog. Tomorrow, Houstonians head to the ballot box to vote “yes” on Proposition 1 to defend HERO, which protects Houston residents and visitors…
A new TV commercial highlights the positive impact the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) could have, including prohibiting discrimination against veterans, writes Hayley Miller on the HRC Blog. “I love this country and I love Texas. But here in Houston, veterans can be discriminated against just because they served in the military,” Noel Freeman, a retired senior…
Know Your Rights/California and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare Foundation is hosting two free town hall meetings for LGBT seniors in San Diego County. Wednesday, Sept. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The first meeting is for LGBT military veterans. The second meeting is a…
According to the USA Today article VA Treats 2,500 Veterans, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA – part of the overall Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA), in 2013 treated 2,567 veterans with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria for transgender specific health care. That’s a significant population of trans veterans in the VA. And, being statistically…
Recently, I had lunch at Harvey Milk’s American Diner with Marine veteran and former State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher. Let me tell you that he was in the best of spirits I have ever seen him in. Happy with life as an executive at Qualcomm, especially with his family and two growing little boys and very…
VA San Diego Health Care System will host a Pride Flag ceremony to honor LGBT military veterans Monday, July 14 at 8:30 a.m. on the San Diego VA Medical Center lawn. The ceremony will feature five flags donated from LGBT community organizations and will be flown during Pride Week July 14-20. Organizations providing flags are The Center,…
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has been in the news quite a bit lately, and not in a good way. However, this exposure brings to mind many great things about the VA and how they support our veterans. There is one benefit in particular that I am aware of that is not being utilized…
Medicine can be confusing. It is therefore often assumed that problems with medical centers and health care delivery are confusing. Sometimes they are, but not in the case of the current scandals at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA medical centers do not have a medicine problem. They have a math problem, a reality…
WASHINGTON – Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Chad Griffin has written to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki urging him to apply a broad interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, to ensure recognition of veterans’ same-sex spouses regardless of where they live. After last year’s Windsor ruling invalidating Section 3 of…
