West Point Cadet Let Down by Hometown

The complainers are probably egged on by their churches of hatred. Clever of them making her the victim, by saying she took someone elses place who would not have been gay. Same old trick the evil ones have used since the beginning of time. Its about time tens of thousands of gay people tell the military they are gay, and dare the stuck in the mud brass to dismiss them And lets see how many of those who bitched at this woman will sign up for military. BTW, is n't this how we broke the back of segregation - don't obey the law.

I am a native and lifelong Ohioan, although my work affords me the opportunity to travel all over the country. I am not sure what to think about the Ohioans who have commented on here that Ohio is not anti-gay. Yes, it is better than it used to be, but Ohio is the state that passed Issue 1 by a 2 to 1 margin in the same election where Bush and Kerry were so close they had to do several recounts. And it passed even though almost all the state's major newspapers, all the big and medium city mayors and even most of the Republicans who held statewide office opposed it as too extreme. Issue 1 was the most extreme, far-reaching anti-gay ballot issue passed in almost any state. Since then the Equality Scorecard ranks Ohio at the very bottom, tied with Arkansas and Mississippi.

"the complains raised are that she accepted the West Point position (thus knocking someone else out) knowing that she was a lesbian and unable to serve based on the current rules" SO? I'd say to those complainers that merely being a lesbian didn't make her unable to serve - if they think so, they need to re-read Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue (the REAL name of the program). If, LATER, at far distant time she felt she could no longer live the lie the military was forcing her to, if she finally felt that to have INTEGRITY is more important than making some breeder feel more comfortable in a shower stall, then that is the fault of the military for still having this piece of shit policy. Not hers.

'The majority of the complains raised are that she accepted the West Point position (thus knocking someone else out) knowing that she was a lesbian and unable to serve based on the current rules.' So here we had someone trying to "pass" like black people used to do. So now that's she's leaving you are saying she had the nerve to take the place of a straight ("white") person. yeah, right

This serves as a cautionary tale. Don't take too much for granted. Strudes have been made, but there is still a long, long way to go in this country. Stories like this serve as a constant reminder of how much hate there is out there. There may be much more acceptance of gays now, but the hate is everywhere, and all one has to do look at the number of states (over 30) that have voted against gay marriage. Ohio does not stand alone in this, and just as there people in this young woman's town who support her, there will always be those who don't. I am not surprised by any of this. This young woman may be somewhat naive to think her town would accept her because she's one of them. She's not and will never be one of them to many in her town.

I am from Jackson, Ohio (southeastern Ohio in the Appalachia area) and very seldon ever get homophobic remarks and yes I am out of the closet and have been since the late 1970's. Being that Findlay is much farther north and a much bigger city I found this puzzling that she has been treated this way. Ohio may not be your California or New York but does have several large cities with tons of gay establishments and Columbus, Ohio has one of the largest and most successful Pride Parades in the nation with close to 300,000 in attendance this past June. We reap what we sow which may not be the case here with this young lady but something about this story does not fit Ohio at all.

Ohio, which continues to give us John Boehner, and this extraordinary young woman is surprised that tea bag central is less than supportive of her? I've been so disappointed with Ohio for so many years that I try not to buy products made there, and then I remember that my own state is probably even worse. Katie, you are a giant among midgets, not that there's anything wrong with us midgets. Thanks for the example you have set; this old man is very, very proud of you.

Ohio is the Alabama of the midwest. It has one of the sternest anti-marriage, anti-civil union amendments ever voted into a state constitution, in very sharp contrast to its neighbor, Iowa. It's also suffered a major brain-drain, as well-educated individuals have fled the state looking for jobs elsewhere. What's left are mostly redneck neanderthals. Avoid Ohio- visit Iowa!

It is always interesting to get both sides of the story.......thank you

I'm from the same hometown, but have since moved away. Findlay is not anti-gay or a hugely religious community. They are however, very mid-western conservative and pragmatic. The majority of the complains raised are that she accepted the West Point position (thus knocking someone else out) knowing that she was a lesbian and unable to serve based on the current rules. Secondly, some question whether she simpply used them as a stepping stone to make it to an Ivy league school, which I don't believe she was accepted into prior.