Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is
calling on Congress to approve legislation that blocks President
Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops from taking effect.
The White House issued the guidance on
Friday, roughly a month after the president called for completely
barring transgender people from serving in the military.
Trump's guidance directs the military
to bar transgender people from entering the military and to stop
paying for the transition-related health care of active duty
transgender troops, but stops short of banning transgender troops,
leaving the decision of what the military should do about active-duty
transgender troops to military leaders.
(Related: Trump
directs Pentagon to ban transgender recruits.)
Duckworth, who lost both legs serving
in the Iraq war, has received a 100 percent score on the Human Rights
Campaign's (HRC) Congressional Scorecard, a measure of a lawmaker's
support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.
“When I was bleeding to death in my
Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didn't care if the
American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay,
straight, transgender, black, white or brown,” Duckworth said in a
statement released prior to the administration's official release of
its guidance.
“All that mattered was they didn't
leave me behind. If you are willing to risk your life for our
country and you can do this job, you should be able to serve – no
matter your gender identity or sexual orientation. Anything else is
not just discriminatory, it is disruptive to our military and it is
counterproductive to our national security.”
“If the President enacts this ban,
which would harm our military readiness, the Democratic and
Republican Members of Congress who oppose this discrimination must
enact legislation that prevents it from taking effect,” Duckworth
added.