Kansas Lesbian
Discharged From National Guard

A nine-year member of the Kansas Army National Guard was discharged under the military's ban on gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members. Amy Brian was the Kansas Guard's first discharge under the nearly 16-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy, according to the Associated Press.

A civilian coworker saw Brian kissing another woman in a Wal-Mart checkout line. The Iraq war veteran was investigated and was "separated" in January.

"I was not separated because of any type of misconduct but plain and simply because someone else had a problem with my sexuality," she said. She added that everyone she went to Iraq with "knew I was gay, and no one had a problem with it."

In July 2008 another gay guardsman warned Brian that someone was targeting her and recommended that she delete her MySpace account, in which she says she is a lesbian. Someone sent anonymous e-mails to her superiors, notifying them of her sexual orientation, prompting an investigation. The following month, a lieutenant told her she was being investigated for homosexual conduct.

Brian joined the Guard in 1991, serving through 1994. She then reenlisted in 2003.

From 1994 to 2007, nearly 12,500 service members were dismissed from the military under "don't ask, don't tell." (Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)