LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, said in a written message on Thursday [7-27-17] to military leaders that there has been no change yet to the military’s policy on transgender personnel, despite plans for a ban announced by President Donald Trump.
‘There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance,’ Dunford, said in the written message to service chiefs, commanders and senior enlisted leaders, first reported by Reuters.
‘In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions.’
Trump issued his surprise announcement on Wednesday morning in a series of Twitter postings, saying he would ban transgender people from the U.S. military, a move appealing to some in his conservative political base but creating vast uncertainty for thousands of transgender servicemembers.
As a presidential candidate, Trump last year vowed to fight for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. His decision drew condemnation from rights groups and some lawmakers in both parties as politically motivated discrimination but was praised by conservative activists and some of his fellow Republicans.”
-Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, “Top U.S. general says no changes yet to transgender policy,” Reuters, July 27, 2107 08:05am