Today’s Action: Tell Congress to protect transgender troops from Trump’s bigotry

Trump’s ban on transgender military personnel will go into effect on April 12. Although the appeals against it will still make their way up through the lower courts, most transgender persons are now affected and disqualified from entering military service.

This oppressive move reverses Obama’s historic decision in 2016 to allow transgender troops to serve openly. It also means that thousands of current transgender service members will be discharged, their careers decimated, even as the appeals continue their progress.

But legislation has been introduced in both chambers of Congress to overturn Trump’s bigoted ban, and both the House and the Senate versions have bipartisan cosponsors.

Call or email your Members of Congress, and demand they cosponsor S.373 and H.R.1032 to proactively protect transgender people and their right to military service. Tell them it’s critical that we stand strong for the trans community while their president is on the attack.

Trump’s ban is unjustified on all grounds, nothing more than a deeply harmful party favor to the right-wing. A 2016 RAND Corporation study found that transgender troops “have minimal impact on readiness and health care costs.” Even Trump’s lawyers and the chiefs of staff of all four military branches have found no measurable negative impact from the inclusion of transgender service members. In fact, the military spends 10 times more on E.D. medication than it does on the grand total of projected transgender health costs.

There are between 2000-11,000 transgender troops serving in the military, and they do so with courage and valor. They deserve to be treated equally, not with discrimination and shaming by their own government.

Email or call (202.224.3121) your Members of Congress and tell them to fight back against Trump’s ban on transgender troops by cosponsoring and passing S.373 and H.R.1032 to give further protection to trans people and allow non-discriminatory military service.

We must refuse to tolerate intolerance.