The New York Fire Department has broken down a new barrier in equality and has welcomed into the FDNY the first male-to-female transgendered firefighter.
The FDNY has been battling critics for years claiming the numbers of black and female firefighters are too low. White males make up about 91 percent of the approximately 11,000-member force. The FDNY has an LGBT organization and some members are openly gay.
“It’s a tremendously courageous decision,” said one fellow firefighter. “Hopefully everyone will be supportive.”
The new recruit who is identified only by her first name “Brooke” is a third-generation firefighter, with her father still on the job and would like to keep the details of her private life, just that. Private.
“I am appreciative of the support that the FDNY has given me during this time in my life. However, it is my expressed wish that the details of my personal and professional life remain private,”
Congratulations Brooke.
This IS LGBT History in the making.
This will really be progress when it doesn’t merit a news story but is just another hire.