Massachusetts Representative Joe
Kennedy, a Democrat, on Monday introduced a House resolution that
rejects President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops.
Kennedy chairs the Congressional
Transgender Task Force.
“No one willing to serve in our armed
services and sacrifice for this country should be subjected to
intolerance and bigotry from their commander-in-chief,” Kennedy
said in a statement.
“But beyond the message sent to our
servicemembers, the President’s tweets sent a hateful, harmful
message to every single transgender man, woman and child in this
nation. Today, my colleagues and I are not only rejecting this
misguided policy, but telling every transgender American that they
are seen, they are heard, and they will not be erased or discounted
by their government.”
According to The
Hill, the non-binding resolution has 111 co-sponsors.
In a series of tweets in July 2017,
Trump declared that the military will no longer “accept or allow”
transgender troops to serve “in any capacity,” reversing
Obama-era policy on transgender individuals serving in the military.
LGBT activists filed four lawsuits in
federal courts challenging the ban.
After several setbacks in lower courts,
the administration modified its policy to allow transgender troops to
serve provided they do so as the sex they were assigned at birth.
Last month, the Supreme Court allowed
the policy to take effect as the cases wind through the courts.
According to the Washington
Blade, the resolution states that the House is “strongly
opposed” to Trump's ban and rejects “the flawed scientific and
medical claims” used by the administration to justify the ban. The
resolution also calls on the Pentagon to “maintain an inclusive
policy allowing qualified transgender Americans to enlist and serve
in the armed forces.”