Trump’s trans ban backlash
PRESIDENT Donald Trump wants to ban transgender people from the US military.
The surprise announcement by Mr Trump, who as a presidential candidate last year vowed to fight for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, came in a series of morning Twitter posts.
It drew condemnation from rights groups and some politicians in both parties as politically motivated discrimination but was praised by conservative activists and some Republicans.
The administration has not determined whether transgender individuals already serving in the military would be immediately thrown out, a point the White House and Pentagon have yet to decide, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
A transgender ban would reverse former President Barack Obama’s policy and also halt years of efforts to eliminate barriers to military service based on gender identity.
“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 US Military,” Trump tweeted, without naming any of the generals or experts.
“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,” he said.
“This was about military readiness,” Ms Huckabee Sanders told a briefing. “This was about unit cohesion. This was about resources within the military, and nothing more.”
The move unleashed a torrent of legal threats from civil liberties advocates seeking plaintiffs willing to challenge the ban in court and sparked a protest by hundreds who rallied outside an armed forces recruiting station in Manhattan’s Times Square.
“We are in a crisis. This is a dark day for everyone,” Brad Hoylman, New York’s sole openly gay state senator, said as he addressed the crowd.