April 12, 2019

Palm Center Reacts to Pentagon’s Reinstatement of Transgender Ban

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” for Transgender Troops is Called “Disgraceful Retreat” from Civil Rights Arc

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, the Trump administration reinstated a ban on transgender Americans after three years of open service which the service chiefs had considered a success. The policy was implemented over the objections of the nation’s top medical experts who decried the Pentagon’s abuse of science and its reference to gender transition as a “deficiency.” Despite Pentagon claims to the contrary, the policy functions as an outright ban on transgender Americans, as this Palm Center memo and this op-ed, published today in Politico, make clear.

Palm Center director Aaron Belkin made the following statement: “In implementing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ for transgender troops today, the Trump administration has put petty politics above military readiness, and personal prejudice above the genuine judgment of military leaders, who have made clear that inclusive service has succeeded for the last three years. Today our nation lurches backwards in a disgraceful retreat from the arc of our civil rights history. Our hearts break for the courageous transgender patriots who want nothing more than to defend their country, and we pledge not to rest until inclusive policy is restored. The transgender ban won’t stand for long.”