The White House has announced orders to formally ban transgender people from serving in the military, following up on Donald Trump’s controversial policy pledge that sparked widespread backlash last year from civil rights groups and US defense chiefs. The memo did not elaborate on possible exceptions, but said the secretary of defense and secretary of homeland security “may exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals”. The president’s orders have reversed Barack Obama’s policy in 2016, which ended a longstanding rule barring trans people from serving openly in the military. “The policy effectively coerces transgender people who wish to serve into choosing between their humanity and their country,” Block said. The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, slammed the new announcement in a statement, saying: “This latest memorandum is the same cowardly, disgusting ban the president announced last summer.

Source: The Guardian March 24, 2018 02:22 UTC