***image1***Bradley Manning, the US military analyst who downloaded a massive cache of classified military information to Wikileaks, has declared she is a woman. The slightly-built Pvt. Manning, who has been described as 'gay' since being arrested in 2010, was this week sentenced to 35 years in military jail for leaking the documents. Manning now identifies as Chelsea and in a public statement says: "I am female." "Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood," the statement continues, "I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," she said. "I hope that you will support me in this transition." However, the US Department of Defense says it does not have "the mechanism in place to provide hormone therapy or gender-reassignment surgery for inmates." U.S. transgender advocacy groups sharply criticized the U.S. Army response, saying health care standards in U.S. federal prisons must be applied in military prisons.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 23rd August 2013 - 7:31pm