For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Lauren Gray, Communications Director, NCLR
lgray@nclrights.org / (215) 983-3099
Amanda Johnston, Director of Public Affairs & Education, GLAD
ajohnston@glad.org / (617) 417-7769
NCLR and GLAD, Leading Groups Fighting Trump’s Transgender Military Ban in Court, Applaud Congressional Efforts to End Harm to Transgender Troops
Hill Action Comes as former Sec. Eric Fanning Speaks out in New Op-ed
(WASHINGTON, D.C., October 13, 2017)—Today, NCLR and GLAD, two leading groups fighting President Trump’s transgender military ban in court, applauded the bipartisan group of Members from the House of Representatives in introducing a bill that would block the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender servicemembers in the military. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., would restrict the Department of Defense from removing servicemembers already serving based on their gender identity and complements Senate legislation introduced last month. The bill comes as additional leaders speak out against Trump’s reckless policy. Earlier today, former Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning voiced his strong opposition to the ban in an op-ed in Time.
“President Trump’s unprecedented attack on service members is causing serious harm both to our troops and to the military as an institution,” said Shannon Minter, NCLR’s Legal Director. “We are grateful to the bipartisan Members of Congress who are taking a stand to combat this reckless policy.”
“This ban needs to end, and it needs to end now,” said Jennifer Levi, Director of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project. “Top military leaders, servicemembers, veterans, and a bipartisan group of Congress Members have spoken out forcefully against this disruptive and senseless ban, because of the harm it is already causing to our armed forces. Our legal team is working overtime to stop President Trump from doing more harm to our national security, and we’re thankful for leaders in Congress who are doing the same.”
In the weeks since the president announced this discriminatory and reckless policy to block transgender people from serving in the military, NCLR and GLAD have asked the courts to block the president’s policy, and are leading two of the four legal suits filed against the president—representing nearly a dozen transgender servicemembers, from coast to coast.
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Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. www.GLAD.org
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. www.NCLRights.org
