The United States is expected to end the ban that currently prevents transgender people from serving openly in the nation’s military by July 2016.
The decision follows more than a year of negotiations on how to handle the proposed change in policy, which comes almost five years after the end of the infamous Don’t Ask, Don’t tell policy which was put in place during the Bill Clinton administration, banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the US military.
Roddy Flynn, Executive Director of the LGBT Equality Caucus explained, “The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was an important step forward, but LGBT equality is not complete if the transgender community is left behind.”
“This country has the greatest fighting force in the world because we place readiness and security above arbitrary exclusion or discriminatory policies.”
“Transgender service members should not have to hide their identity to serve their country. For too long these courageous soldiers have been forced to serve in silence. Thanks to this new policy, we will have a stronger, more focused and more just military.”
Decision this week
Reports from USA Today indicate that leading US military officials are planning to meet this week to finalise details of the proposed transgender ban to be signed off by Deputy Defence Secretary Bob Work by June 29.
Final approval to remove the transgender ban in the United States military will come from Defence Secretary Ash Carter who earlier stated that the ban would be lifted unless a review showed that doing so would have “adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness.”
Last Updated on Jun 27, 2016
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