The VA

You are willing to put your life on the line for your country but what happens when your state disses you?

Transgender troops warned to avoid Florida over discriminatory laws

Miltary Times

By Eden Stratton, The War Horse

August 11, 2023

When Jodi Jeloudov walked into the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs center for her monthly doctor’s appointment this summer, she felt on edge. For eight years, she had approached VA the same way: high heels clipping the pavement, makeup adorning her face.

As a transgender veteran, she faces persecution and harassment every time she visits, she tells The War Horse.

After she left the appointment, Jeloudov stopped to use the women’s restroom. VA employees spotted her, removed her, and questioned her.

For Jeloudov, the situation was hardly new. But this time, she recorded it.

The video shows two VA employees referring to Jeloudov as a man. One mentions a supervisor who saw Jeloudov approach the bathroom who “didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Your government tells you go fight over there and then when you come back the country has only contempt for you.

In response to incidents like Jeloudov’s, SPARTA [Service members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All], an advocacy group that supports transgender service members and veterans, released a warning to transgender service members to avoid Florida.

“SPARTA has withheld such recommendations previously, recognizing service members can fulfill their duties anywhere in the world,” the warning states. “They have done so proudly for over 200 years and continue to do so in duty stations worldwide and ships sailing all the world’s oceans. However, here at home, the state of Florida has created circumstances that pose legal challenges and hazards to our nation’s military members, even while they defend our nation’s freedoms.”

The warning raises questions about how transgender military members can serve while their identities are under scrutiny. Florida is home to almost two dozen military bases and installations, with more than 60,000 active members serving in the state, according to a March 2023 Department of Defense report. For transgender service members, the likelihood of being stationed in Florida is a tangible reality, with limited options to avoid it.

Okay suppose you are a straight service member and you are transferred to Florida. You are looking for care for your trans child and all of a sudden you are a criminal in the eyes of the state… your crime? Wanting to get medical treatment for your trans child.

Although military policies are designed to protect transgender service members and veterans, the line between state and federal law has become blurred. VA falls under federal law, which ensures that transgender veterans may use the bathroom of their gender identity and that employees refer to them by their designated names and pronouns. But the staff at the West Palm Beach VA in the video defer to newly passed state legislation that states otherwise.

Gee, I remember the last time this happened. Service members came back for fighting overseas for their country and when they came home they were second class citizens. They fought the Nazis on the ground and in the air but when they came back to the U.S. they couldn’t sit at a lunch counter.