CARNAL NATION

U.S. Army Private Bethany Smith fled to Canada after her fellow soldiers discovered that she was a lesbian. Pte. Smith was seen by other soldiers holding hands with another woman at a mall near the base in Fort Campbell, KY. After that, according to Smith, she was treated as "less than human." She was allegedly physically assaulted on a regular basis in full view of superior officers and received death threats. Upon discovering that a gay soldier was beaten to death in his bed with a baseball bat at the same base in 1999, Smith came out to her sergeant and requested a discharge, which was denied. "He told me straight up, 'We'll figure out the paperwork when we get back from deployment," she said. Smith and her unit were on deck for deployment in Afghanistan. She alleges that the military's "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" policy was being willfully ignored because of a shortage of soldiers available for combat deployment.

Smith then drove to Canada where The War Resister Support Campaign assisted her in settling into a new life north of the border. However, Canadian officials are now weighing whether to grant her refugee status or to deport her. "If Bethany were to return, she actually would be putting her life in danger," said her attorney Jamie Liew. Upon return to the U.S., Smith would likely faces charges of desertion and indecency, which could carry prison sentences. While most U.S. military deserters who have fled to Canada to avoid deployment have been deported, Liew says that the sexual orientation issue makes Smith's application for refugee status more compelling. "Bethany is coming with an extremely different story. She's coming because of the way her life was threatened because of her sexual orientation," said the attorney. Liew further alleges that the U.S. military judicial system is "not up to par" with the human rights standards maintained by Canada and other civilized nations.