Will VA hospitals care for gay and lesbian veterans?

In an op-ed featured in the Huffington Post, Jessica Gerson, author of the Change.org petition "Dallas VA Medical Center: Fire Homophobic Nurse for Harassing Lesbian Marine Veteran," questions whether or not the VA hospitals are prepared to care for U.S. gay & lesbian troops.
Jessica shares to story of her friend Esther Garatie, a lesbian Marine veteran who alleges that she was harassed for being gay at the Dallas VA Medical Center.
"Fortunately for me, and for all those who know and love Esther, she didn't end her life that afternoon. And though I couldn't repair all the damage done, I could make it my mission to ensure that what happened to Esther never happened again to any gay or lesbian veteran."
After the event, Jessica launched a petition on Change.org calling for the Dallas VA to fire the homophobic nurse. More than 15,000 people have signed her petition in support of Esther.
According to Jessica Gerson's Huffington Post op-ed:
By the end of 2011, more than 40,000 U.S. troops will return home from Iraq. Many of those troops, some of whom are gay or lesbian, will seek medical support from their local VA hospital -- support they've earned and deserve. But is our VA system prepared to care for our nation's gay and lesbian soldiers?
Based on the experience of my friend Esther Garatie, an honorably discharged Marine lance corporal, I'd have to say not yet. On Oct. 12, Esther almost took her life, and a homophobic VA nurse is very much responsible.
It was 1:15 PM in the afternoon when I first heard from Esther. I should have been in a parent-child therapy session with a mother and her 4-year-old son, but their car broke down and they had to cancel. That's the only reason I was at my desk to hear it when my phone buzzed with a text message.
It was Esther, and something was very wrong.
So I called her and listened in increasing horror as she relayed the events of that morning. Esther, an openly lesbian veteran who was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marines, had taken an important first step and gone to the Dallas VA Medical Center to seek treatment for the depression and PTSD symptoms that had plagued her for months.
This should have been cause for celebration; Esther's girlfriend Dana and I had been pushing her to actively pursue treatment.
But there would be no celebration, as Esther asked me, voice breaking on every word, whether she was going to hell for being gay. Not as she asked me whether she was damning Dana just by loving her. Not as she asked me whether she was only depressed because she was gay.
And not as Esther told me that Nurse Practitioner Lincy T. Pandithurai, who works at the Dallas VA Medical Center, had just subjected her to a three-hour-long homophobic rant.
You can read Jessica's full op-ed here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-gerson/dallas-va-homophobic-nurse_b_1152298.html

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