On the campaign trail, Donald Trump called himself a "friend" to the LGBTQ community, but on Wednesday he announced a ban on transgender people in the U.S. armed services. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
Jul 26, 2017
Roiling LGBTQ advocates nationwide, President Donald Trump's continued to trample on LGBTQ rights Wednesday, by announcing that transgender individuals will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces.
"From stripping protections from transgender students to today's announcement, the Trump administration has made clear it has an agenda of discrimination."
--Tarah Demant, Amnesty International
"This is an outrageous and desperate action. The thousands of transgender service members serving on the front lines for this country deserve better than a commander-in-chief who rejects their basic humanity," said Joshua Block, an ACLU senior staff attorney. "There is no basis for turning trans people away from our military and the ACLU is examining all of our options on how to fight this."
In a June 2016 decision that was lauded by much of the LGBTQ community, Barack Obama's Department of Defense announced it would allow transgender service members to openly serve. Later last year, the DOD implemented training for its leadership and medical guidance for doctors to address transition-related medical care for transgender service members.
On Wednesday, less than a month after the military was initially scheduled to begin accepting new transgender members into its ranks, Trump said in a series of tweets:
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.
Jonathan Swan, an Axios reporter, spoke to a White House official who suggested the decision was a political strategy ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The official reportedly told Swan:
This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for reelection in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow [D-Mich.] are now forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaign?
ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, who famously represented former soldier and WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning, responded to Swan's report:
\u201cOh good - toying with national security, trans lives, and our collective health, for the sake of midterms. We should all be outraged. https://t.co/YOn7yOmBJH\u201d— Chase Strangio (@Chase Strangio) 1501077521
Manning, who is believed to be the first person to receive transition-related healthcare while in military prison, tweeted Wednesday: "Today is further reason we should dismantle the bloated and dangerous military/intel/police state to fund #healthcare for all." Manning also noted the cost of the government's wildly expensive F-35 program:
\u201cso, biggest baddest most $$ military on earth cries about a few trans people \ud83d\ude29 but funds the F-35? \ud83d\ude11\u00a0sounds like cowardice \ud83d\ude0e\ud83d\udc95\ud83c\udf08 #WeGotThis\u201d— Chelsea E. Manning (@Chelsea E. Manning) 1501078827
Journalist Ali Abunimah, criticized Trump's decision, while also pointing out the problem of advocating for anyone to be part of the U.S. military machine.
\u201cTrump\u2019s attack on trans people is vile and violent. But \u201cserving\u201d in America\u2019s global death machine is nothing any human should aspire to. https://t.co/Lyopz0UhDV\u201d— Ali Abunimah (@Ali Abunimah) 1501075737
Glenn Greenwald, a journalist and LGBTQ rights advocate, shared Abunimah's tweet--noting his contribution to "the long-standing debate on the left when it comes to LGBT discrimination and the US military"--and refuted Trump's claim that covering transitioning service members' medical costs would be burdensome.
The nation's leading LGBTQ advocates were quick to condemn the decision.
"This is an appalling attack on our service members; it is about bigotry rather than military readiness, reason or science," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, which estimates that about 15,000 transgender people currently serve in the armed forces. "The President wants to discard thousands of trained and skilled troops who are already serving honorably and done nothing but be honest about who they are."
"Today's announcement violates the human rights of all transgender Americans. It lays bare the president's prejudice and underlines the fact that creating policy based on bigotry is becoming a dangerous and cruel pattern for President Trump," said Tarah Demant, Amnesty International USA's director of gender, sexuality, and identity. "The administration continues to target minority communities without pause and without facts. From stripping protections from transgender students to today's announcement, the Trump administration has made clear it has an agenda of discrimination."
Advocates also pointed out how the decision blatantly contradicts Trump's campaign pledges that he would be a "real friend" to the LGBTQ community.
\u201cRemember that time @realDonaldTrump lied about being a "friend" to the LGBT community, and then did this?\u201d— Lambda Legal (@Lambda Legal) 1501075630
\u201cTime and time again, President Trump's actions speak louder than his words. https://t.co/hxYmSMoSG4\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1501080044
Democrats in Congress also decried the Trump administration's decision.
\u201c.@realDonaldTrump can pretend this is a military decision, but it isn't. Banning troops on gender identity is shameful & makes us less safe.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1501081217
\u201cThis is discrimination, plain and simple. I stand with the brave transgender Americans who selflessly serve our military. https://t.co/VGck60O9G1\u201d— Vice President Kamala Harris (@Vice President Kamala Harris) 1501078026
\u201cI served on active duty in the U.S. Military. Exclusion of Transgender Americans by @POTUS is not based on facts, it is based on bigotry. https://t.co/DgURRGnMVu\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1501076487
\u201cTrans service members aren\u2019t a \u201cdisruption\u201d \u2014 they\u2019re brave individuals serving our nation. They should be thanked, not bullied by POTUS. https://t.co/JlDkVs7Y9r\u201d— Rep. Barbara Lee (@Rep. Barbara Lee) 1501076659
This article has been updated with comments from Amnesty International.
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Roiling LGBTQ advocates nationwide, President Donald Trump's continued to trample on LGBTQ rights Wednesday, by announcing that transgender individuals will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces.
"From stripping protections from transgender students to today's announcement, the Trump administration has made clear it has an agenda of discrimination."
--Tarah Demant, Amnesty International
"This is an outrageous and desperate action. The thousands of transgender service members serving on the front lines for this country deserve better than a commander-in-chief who rejects their basic humanity," said Joshua Block, an ACLU senior staff attorney. "There is no basis for turning trans people away from our military and the ACLU is examining all of our options on how to fight this."
In a June 2016 decision that was lauded by much of the LGBTQ community, Barack Obama's Department of Defense announced it would allow transgender service members to openly serve. Later last year, the DOD implemented training for its leadership and medical guidance for doctors to address transition-related medical care for transgender service members.
On Wednesday, less than a month after the military was initially scheduled to begin accepting new transgender members into its ranks, Trump said in a series of tweets:
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.
Jonathan Swan, an Axios reporter, spoke to a White House official who suggested the decision was a political strategy ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The official reportedly told Swan:
This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for reelection in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow [D-Mich.] are now forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaign?
ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, who famously represented former soldier and WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning, responded to Swan's report:
\u201cOh good - toying with national security, trans lives, and our collective health, for the sake of midterms. We should all be outraged. https://t.co/YOn7yOmBJH\u201d— Chase Strangio (@Chase Strangio) 1501077521
Manning, who is believed to be the first person to receive transition-related healthcare while in military prison, tweeted Wednesday: "Today is further reason we should dismantle the bloated and dangerous military/intel/police state to fund #healthcare for all." Manning also noted the cost of the government's wildly expensive F-35 program:
\u201cso, biggest baddest most $$ military on earth cries about a few trans people \ud83d\ude29 but funds the F-35? \ud83d\ude11\u00a0sounds like cowardice \ud83d\ude0e\ud83d\udc95\ud83c\udf08 #WeGotThis\u201d— Chelsea E. Manning (@Chelsea E. Manning) 1501078827
Journalist Ali Abunimah, criticized Trump's decision, while also pointing out the problem of advocating for anyone to be part of the U.S. military machine.
\u201cTrump\u2019s attack on trans people is vile and violent. But \u201cserving\u201d in America\u2019s global death machine is nothing any human should aspire to. https://t.co/Lyopz0UhDV\u201d— Ali Abunimah (@Ali Abunimah) 1501075737
Glenn Greenwald, a journalist and LGBTQ rights advocate, shared Abunimah's tweet--noting his contribution to "the long-standing debate on the left when it comes to LGBT discrimination and the US military"--and refuted Trump's claim that covering transitioning service members' medical costs would be burdensome.
The nation's leading LGBTQ advocates were quick to condemn the decision.
"This is an appalling attack on our service members; it is about bigotry rather than military readiness, reason or science," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, which estimates that about 15,000 transgender people currently serve in the armed forces. "The President wants to discard thousands of trained and skilled troops who are already serving honorably and done nothing but be honest about who they are."
"Today's announcement violates the human rights of all transgender Americans. It lays bare the president's prejudice and underlines the fact that creating policy based on bigotry is becoming a dangerous and cruel pattern for President Trump," said Tarah Demant, Amnesty International USA's director of gender, sexuality, and identity. "The administration continues to target minority communities without pause and without facts. From stripping protections from transgender students to today's announcement, the Trump administration has made clear it has an agenda of discrimination."
Advocates also pointed out how the decision blatantly contradicts Trump's campaign pledges that he would be a "real friend" to the LGBTQ community.
\u201cRemember that time @realDonaldTrump lied about being a "friend" to the LGBT community, and then did this?\u201d— Lambda Legal (@Lambda Legal) 1501075630
\u201cTime and time again, President Trump's actions speak louder than his words. https://t.co/hxYmSMoSG4\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1501080044
Democrats in Congress also decried the Trump administration's decision.
\u201c.@realDonaldTrump can pretend this is a military decision, but it isn't. Banning troops on gender identity is shameful & makes us less safe.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1501081217
\u201cThis is discrimination, plain and simple. I stand with the brave transgender Americans who selflessly serve our military. https://t.co/VGck60O9G1\u201d— Vice President Kamala Harris (@Vice President Kamala Harris) 1501078026
\u201cI served on active duty in the U.S. Military. Exclusion of Transgender Americans by @POTUS is not based on facts, it is based on bigotry. https://t.co/DgURRGnMVu\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1501076487
\u201cTrans service members aren\u2019t a \u201cdisruption\u201d \u2014 they\u2019re brave individuals serving our nation. They should be thanked, not bullied by POTUS. https://t.co/JlDkVs7Y9r\u201d— Rep. Barbara Lee (@Rep. Barbara Lee) 1501076659
This article has been updated with comments from Amnesty International.
Roiling LGBTQ advocates nationwide, President Donald Trump's continued to trample on LGBTQ rights Wednesday, by announcing that transgender individuals will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces.
"From stripping protections from transgender students to today's announcement, the Trump administration has made clear it has an agenda of discrimination."
--Tarah Demant, Amnesty International
"This is an outrageous and desperate action. The thousands of transgender service members serving on the front lines for this country deserve better than a commander-in-chief who rejects their basic humanity," said Joshua Block, an ACLU senior staff attorney. "There is no basis for turning trans people away from our military and the ACLU is examining all of our options on how to fight this."
In a June 2016 decision that was lauded by much of the LGBTQ community, Barack Obama's Department of Defense announced it would allow transgender service members to openly serve. Later last year, the DOD implemented training for its leadership and medical guidance for doctors to address transition-related medical care for transgender service members.
On Wednesday, less than a month after the military was initially scheduled to begin accepting new transgender members into its ranks, Trump said in a series of tweets:
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.
Jonathan Swan, an Axios reporter, spoke to a White House official who suggested the decision was a political strategy ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. The official reportedly told Swan:
This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for reelection in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow [D-Mich.] are now forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaign?
ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, who famously represented former soldier and WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning, responded to Swan's report:
\u201cOh good - toying with national security, trans lives, and our collective health, for the sake of midterms. We should all be outraged. https://t.co/YOn7yOmBJH\u201d— Chase Strangio (@Chase Strangio) 1501077521
Manning, who is believed to be the first person to receive transition-related healthcare while in military prison, tweeted Wednesday: "Today is further reason we should dismantle the bloated and dangerous military/intel/police state to fund #healthcare for all." Manning also noted the cost of the government's wildly expensive F-35 program:
\u201cso, biggest baddest most $$ military on earth cries about a few trans people \ud83d\ude29 but funds the F-35? \ud83d\ude11\u00a0sounds like cowardice \ud83d\ude0e\ud83d\udc95\ud83c\udf08 #WeGotThis\u201d— Chelsea E. Manning (@Chelsea E. Manning) 1501078827
Journalist Ali Abunimah, criticized Trump's decision, while also pointing out the problem of advocating for anyone to be part of the U.S. military machine.
\u201cTrump\u2019s attack on trans people is vile and violent. But \u201cserving\u201d in America\u2019s global death machine is nothing any human should aspire to. https://t.co/Lyopz0UhDV\u201d— Ali Abunimah (@Ali Abunimah) 1501075737
Glenn Greenwald, a journalist and LGBTQ rights advocate, shared Abunimah's tweet--noting his contribution to "the long-standing debate on the left when it comes to LGBT discrimination and the US military"--and refuted Trump's claim that covering transitioning service members' medical costs would be burdensome.
The nation's leading LGBTQ advocates were quick to condemn the decision.
"This is an appalling attack on our service members; it is about bigotry rather than military readiness, reason or science," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, which estimates that about 15,000 transgender people currently serve in the armed forces. "The President wants to discard thousands of trained and skilled troops who are already serving honorably and done nothing but be honest about who they are."
"Today's announcement violates the human rights of all transgender Americans. It lays bare the president's prejudice and underlines the fact that creating policy based on bigotry is becoming a dangerous and cruel pattern for President Trump," said Tarah Demant, Amnesty International USA's director of gender, sexuality, and identity. "The administration continues to target minority communities without pause and without facts. From stripping protections from transgender students to today's announcement, the Trump administration has made clear it has an agenda of discrimination."
Advocates also pointed out how the decision blatantly contradicts Trump's campaign pledges that he would be a "real friend" to the LGBTQ community.
\u201cRemember that time @realDonaldTrump lied about being a "friend" to the LGBT community, and then did this?\u201d— Lambda Legal (@Lambda Legal) 1501075630
\u201cTime and time again, President Trump's actions speak louder than his words. https://t.co/hxYmSMoSG4\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1501080044
Democrats in Congress also decried the Trump administration's decision.
\u201c.@realDonaldTrump can pretend this is a military decision, but it isn't. Banning troops on gender identity is shameful & makes us less safe.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1501081217
\u201cThis is discrimination, plain and simple. I stand with the brave transgender Americans who selflessly serve our military. https://t.co/VGck60O9G1\u201d— Vice President Kamala Harris (@Vice President Kamala Harris) 1501078026
\u201cI served on active duty in the U.S. Military. Exclusion of Transgender Americans by @POTUS is not based on facts, it is based on bigotry. https://t.co/DgURRGnMVu\u201d— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1501076487
\u201cTrans service members aren\u2019t a \u201cdisruption\u201d \u2014 they\u2019re brave individuals serving our nation. They should be thanked, not bullied by POTUS. https://t.co/JlDkVs7Y9r\u201d— Rep. Barbara Lee (@Rep. Barbara Lee) 1501076659
This article has been updated with comments from Amnesty International.
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