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Trump, Pence Force Their Hate and Discrimination onto the Military with Transgender Ban

September 12, 2017 Stephen Peters Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

Today, HRC strongly condemned a White House directive that interferes in Department of Defense personnel policy by pushing forward President Trump’s and Vice President Pence’s transgender military ban. HRC called on Secretary of Defense James Mattis to protect transgender service members from the vicious political assault.

The new directive bans at least some medically necessary transition-related health care and extends the ban on transgender people enlisting or commissioning into the military. The long term issue of currently serving transgender troops’ continued service remains unresolved.

“Donald Trump and Mike Pence are forcing their hate, bigotry, and discrimination onto the military with this transgender ban,” said Stephen Peters, HRC National Press Secretary and Marine veteran. “Secretary Mattis has a solemn responsibility to protect transgender troops from this vile political attack. We have a responsibility to treat every service member with the honor, respect, and benefits they have earned. And no qualified and talented American should be turned away from the military just because of their gender identity. Donald Trump’s attack on currently serving troops and his refusal to treat every service member equally proves once again he is unfit to be commander in chief.”

More than a year ago, the Pentagon lifted the archaic ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military, joining eighteen other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Israel, which allow transgender people to serve openly in their militaries. The Pentagon made the change after a year-long intensive working group that studied the implications of transgender military service. A study sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of RAND’s National Defense Research Institute found that there would be minimal health care costs and negligible readiness implications associated with allowing transgender people to serve in the military — contrary to the rhetoric and unfounded claims from anti-LGBTQ activists.

Estimates show there are thousands of actively serving transgender members of the U.S. military, making the Department of Defense (DoD) the largest employer of transgender people in America. Thousands of transgender Americans have served with honor and distinction in our military, including the more than 134,000 transgender veterans who are alive today.

On Chechnya, Silence is Complicity

September 6, 2017 Ty Cobb Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

This post originally appeared in The Advocate and was submitted by Ty Cobb, director of HRC Global.

On July 31, nearly four months after the news first broke about the atrocities being committed against LGBTQ people in the Russian republic of Chechnya, the Russian LGBT Network published a gruesome report illustrating the horrific persecution of gay and bisexual men there. The network has been working closely with survivors of Chechnya’s antigay purge and has shared some of their stories of torture and beatings at the hands of the Chechen authorities.

From “A.B.”:

My friend … offered to come over. When he arrived … I saw him with other people and immediately realized that it was a set-up. The people who were with him were wearing camouflage uniforms. They said that they were taking me away. They started beating me up and saying humiliating things. They said that I’m not a man, just some creature, that I am nothing. That I should rather be a terrorist than a faggot. That a dirty piece of cloth was worth more than me.

Another, from “I.J.”:

They threw me to the floor and beat me. They beat my chest and my face with their feet, and they hit my head against the floor. One of them said: “Do not beat him until the shock stage, at that point he will stop feeling pain. We don’t need that.” They addressed me with female pronouns and demanded that I tell them the names of other gay people I knew. They threatened to kill me if I didn’t.

And another, from “E.F.”:

Every day, I was transported to the premises for torture. It was situated underground. I was beaten there every day. <…> It was impossible to sleep there; you could be captured anytime and thrown into another place. There were no windows, nothing. It was always as dark as night. <…> They put plastic bags on my head, and when I was running out of oxygen, they tore the bag away and hit my legs at the same time. <…> We had no water inside. The only water we could drink was when we were going out of the cells.

Since this past winter, the Chechen government has launched a sustained, widespread, and vicious attack on its LGBTQ citizens. Some leaders there promised to erase Chechen gay people before Ramadan while others denied it was happening, even denying the very existence of LGBTQ people there. Lesbians have also come under attack from their families and, unlike gay men, they have no legal avenue for fleeing Chechnya without a husband or written permission from their families.

The Trump-Pence White House has remained unconscionably silent about all this despite reports of this mounting human rights crisis. While a few administration officials have spoken up and the House of Representatives voted to condemn the Chechen atrocities, neither the president, the vice president. nor the secretary of State has issued even a single statement mentioning it, nor is there any reason to believe they have raised it in any bilateral meetings.

The one brief glimmer of hope had been the possibility of a serious Russian investigation into the purge. In late May, Russian authorities announced that Igor Sobol would lead an investigation. He was described as “meticulous,” “fearless,” and “reputable,” and there were even reports emerging that the Chechen government had “crossed a red line” in its relationship with Moscow. One report stated that Chechen officials were in “panic mode” over the investigation and that several had expressed “newfound tolerance” for the LGBTQ community there, with one police chief even suggesting he’d permit a gay pride parade in Grozny.

Sadly, that ember was quickly extinguished in early July, when Novaya Gazeta, which had been the first to break the story, reported that Sobol had been removed from the case. And in its new report, the Russian LGBT Network concluded that “the investigative actions were just a formality.” In fact, it alleged that Chechen authorities “receive assistance from Russian law enforcement agencies in various regions” to help them drag victims back to Chechnya for more abuse.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson admitted before Congress that he hadn’t raised the issue with his Russian counterparts and that it was still on a “pending list.” This, of course, is no surprise, since Tillerson has already said human rights are an “obstacle” to U.S. interests and has ordered his department to write a new mission statement, which removes any reference to democracy promotion abroad.

After four months, the White House’s silence on Chechnya is nothing less than complicity. The whole world is watching as it fails this early test of human rights and dignity. This administration will apparently turn a blind eye while autocrats and dictators torture and kill LGBTQ people, ethnic minorities, and other vulnerable groups, just as long as they don’t harm a narrowly defined set of U.S. interests. For shame.

It’s crucial that we continue to hold the Trump administration accountable for its failure to speak out. The eyes of the world are watching, and our president and his administration must begin to lead by speaking out against these human rights abuses.

Legion of Retired Generals and Admirals Condemn Trump’s Trans Military Ban

August 14, 2017 Brian McBride Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

In a clear repudiation of the President’s harmful and ill-conceived Twitter policy-making, 56 retired Generals and Admirals released a joint statement warning President Trump’s transgender military ban would degrade military readiness.

According to the statement released today by the Palm Center, the decorated military brass not only condemned Trump’s reckless ban, but also declared their unwavering support for thousands of brave trans service members already serving our country with valor.

“This proposed ban, if implemented, would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent, and compromise the integrity of transgender troops who would be forced to live a lie, as well as non-transgender peers who would be forced to choose between reporting their comrades or disobeying policy,” say the generals and admirals. “As a result, the proposed ban would degrade readiness even more than the failed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. Patriotic transgender Americans who are serving — and who want to serve — must not be dismissed, deprived of medically necessary health care, or forced to compromise their integrity or hide their identity.”

Last week, Trump made the unconscionable decision via Twitter to ban qualified transgender service members from serving “in any capacity” in the military. If implemented, the ban could result in the discharge of more than 15,000 transgender Americans currently serving our country. HRC blasted the ban as an all out assault on an already vulnerable group of service members.

“These retired generals and admirals have made it clear exactly how destructive President Trump’s proposed transgender military ban would be to our nation’s armed forces,” said Stephen Peters, HRC National Press Secretary and Marine veteran. “President Trump’s and Vice President Pence’s attack on bravely serving transgender troops is dangerous and unpatriotic. They absolutely must listen to these voices of reason and reverse course in support of ALL of our nation’s heroes, regardless of their gender identity.”

The Generals and Admirals also shot down claims made by Trump that the financial costs associated with trans military service would be too disruptive, saying these claims are “without merit.”

“The financial cost of providing health care to transgender troops would be, at most, $8.4 million per year. This amounts to one one-hundredth of one percent of the military’s annual health care budget,” according to the statement. “As for ostensible disruptions, transgender troops have been serving honorably and openly for the past year, and have been widely praised by commanders.”

Dozens of Senators and House members from both sides of the aisle expressed their outrage over the move, with Senators already requesting the Pentagon not implement the ban. The Defense Department has said they need more guidance from the White House amid widespread confusion following Trump’s announcement.

A Familiar Form of Discrimination

August 12, 2017 Stephen Peters Human Rights Campaign, Social & Civil Issues

This piece originally appeared in U.S. News & World Report and was authored by Stephen Peters, HRC National Press Secretary.

It was with a familiar sickness of heart that I watched as President Donald Trump launched an all-out assault on the LGBTQ community and active duty service members by tweeting that he is reinstating a transgender military service ban.

You see, I’ve been there. My own service in the Marine Corps was cut short because of “don’t ask, don’t tell” – the archaic and deeply discriminatory law that barred gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving openly in the military. I was discharged because I am gay. I still mourn the loss of the career I had aimed for, serving the country I love.

Sadly, Trump’s heinous and disgusting action – which could lead to the discharge of as many as 15,000 transgender Americans serving our country at this critical time – is “don’t ask, don’t tell” all over again. Trump’s nakedly political aim to isolate, target and discriminate against transgender troops courageously serving our country has, in a few hundred Twitter characters, threatened to return us to a deeply shameful policy that weakens our military. Discharging thousands of highly trained and talented troops just because of their gender identity would be unconscionable.

I was just out of college when I decided to enlist, after the tragic events of Sept. 11. Though I was proud to honorably serve my country in the U.S. Marine Corps, after re-enlisting for another four years, I knew I could no longer go on pretending I wasn’t gay.

I wanted to continue to serve, but the law said I was suddenly unfit for duty, simply because of who I am. A huge burden was lifted off of my family’s shoulders when “don’t ask, don’t tell” was finally repealed under President Barack Obama, allowing my Marine husband to keep his distinguished career. He’s now serving a year-long deployment in one of the world’s most dangerous areas.

So you can imagine my outrage that Trump would seek to implement this kind of discriminatory, unpatriotic policy. Our transgender service members wear the same uniform, take the same oath and are heroes who put their lives on the line to protect our country and promote security around the globe.

All of our brave troops – including my husband, who is currently serving in harm’s way – are counting on us to have their backs, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Instead, since the day he set foot in the White House, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have appointed anti-LGBTQ extremists across the government and sought to roll back our rights at every turn. It’s bad enough that Trump and Pence oppose marriage equality, that they endorse license to discriminate laws, that they defend anti-LGBTQ measures like North Carolina’s HB2, that they appoint anti-equality justices and that they campaign with anti-LGBTQ hate groups.

It is a new low to target thousands upon thousands of actively serving transgender members of the U.S. military, and impugn the honor of tens of thousands more who have served with valor and distinction — including more than 134,000 transgender veterans who are alive today. This attack undermines military readiness and harms the military’s ability to recruit and retain the best and the brightest, regardless of their gender identity.

I hope that every service member and veteran who has fought for our country will see the injustice in what Trump and Pence have done. I hope they will join me in standing up to this disgraceful assault on our fellow service members.

We enlist and commission to protect our most fundamental values: freedom, justice, equality under the law. It is an outrageous tragedy that our commander in chief has decreed transgender troops – who are fighting for those ideals we all share – should be treated so shamefully.