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Monthly Archives: August 2017
Defense Secretary James Mattis Announces Bogus Panel to Study Effect of Transgender Military Service Ban
Defense Secretary James Mattis Announces Bogus Panel to Study Effect of Transgender Military Service Ban
Defense Secretary James Mattis on Tuesday night stalled Donald Trump’s order expelling transgender military service members, delaying implementation of the order until further study was undertaken.
The Department of Defense has received the Presidential Memorandum, dated August 25, 2017, entitled “Military Service by Transgender Individuals.” The department will carry out the president’s policy direction, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security. As directed, we will develop a study and implementation plan, which will contain the steps that will promote military readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion, with due regard for budgetary constraints and consistent with applicable law. The soon arriving senior civilian leadership of DOD will play an important role in this effort. The implementation plan will address accessions of transgender individuals and transgender individuals currently serving in the United States military.
Our focus must always be on what is best for the military’s combat effectiveness leading to victory on the battlefield. To that end, I will establish a panel of experts serving within the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to provide advice and recommendations on the implementation of the president’s direction. Panel members will bring mature experience, most notably in combat and deployed operations, and seasoned judgment to this task. The panel will assemble and thoroughly analyze all pertinent data, quantifiable and non-quantifiable. Further information on the panel will be forthcoming.
Once the panel reports its recommendations and following my consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice to the president concerning implementation of his policy direction. In the interim, current policy with respect to currently serving members will remain in place. I expect to issue interim guidance to the force concerning the president’s direction, including any necessary interim adjustments to procedures, to ensure the continued combat readiness of the force until our final policy on this subject is issued.
Last week, the ACLU, Outserve-SLDN and Lambda Legal, and NCLR and GLAD announced lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the ban.
NCLR’s Shannon Minter responded to the angle of a USA Today story reporting on Mattis’s statement:
The USA Today story is grossly misleading. Secretary Mattis did not make a decision to “buy time” or to “freeze” the current policy. The President’s August 25, 2017 Memorandum expressly provides that the new ban does not go into effect until March 23, 2018 and expressly states that no one can be discharged for being transgender in the meantime. There is nothing new at all here, and suggesting otherwise is terribly misleading.
This inaccurate reporting is playing into a patently bogus strategy to make it appear that there is going to be some new “study” that will legitimate what is already a forgone conclusion: the discriminatory banning of military service by transgender people, based on a characteristic that has no bearing on their fitness to serve. The August 25 Memorandum is perfectly clear: President Trump has ordered the military to ban transgender people from serving. That ban will go into effect in about 7 months, on March 23. That appalling decision is not (and cannot possibly be, given its timing) based on any hastily assembled, post hoc “study” that is being cooked up now in a transparent effort to provide a retroactive fig leaf for the President’s bigotry. This order is an act of pure animus toward transgender people. The military spent two years carefully reviewing all of the relevant evidence on this issue and concluded that there is no reason to exclude transgender people from military service. The cost of inclusion is literally negligible, and there is no evidence that permitting open service will have any negative impact on military readiness. The notion that there is any good faith “study” being conducted is a blatant pretext for unmitigated, vicious, baseless discrimination.
More than ever, we need reporters to fact check these stories and not simply repeat false information that is being used to set up an attempted cover for one of the most shocking acts of official discrimination the transgender community has ever experienced.
There is no new “freeze.” This is just what the August 25 [Memorandum] ordered — along with a permanent ban on enlistment, effective now, and a new ban on open service, effective on March 23, 2018.
The post Defense Secretary James Mattis Announces Bogus Panel to Study Effect of Transgender Military Service Ban appeared first on Towleroad.
GLAAD responds after Defense Secretary Mattis delays Trump’s ban on transgender service members: “Stories of patriotic transgender service members and veterans are the front lines of defense”
GLAAD responds after Defense Secretary Mattis delays Trump’s ban on transgender service members: “Stories of patriotic transgender service members and veterans are the front lines of defense”
Decision Comes Two Days after Six Service Members Make Global Headlines at MTV VMAs
NEW YORK –– GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, tonight responded to the announcement by U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis that the Department of Defense will not implement President Trump’s ban on transgender Americans from openly serving in the United States Military until further study by experts.
On Sunday at the MTV VMAs, GLAAD and SPARTA, a LGBTQ service members and veterans group, joined transgender service members Sterling James Crutcher, Logan Ireland, Jennifer Peace, and Akira Wyatt, as well as trans veterans Laila Ireland and Brynn Tannehill. Their appearance on the red carpet made headlines across the world.
President Donald Trump’s announcement in July via Twitter is a complete reversal from a directive by the Obama Administration, which lifted a ban on trans soldiers from openly serving in the military. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, there are over 15,000 transgender Americans currently serving in the United States armed forces.
“The Department of Defense has taken a step in the right direction and sent an important message to transgender Americans currently serving our country,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, who walked the MTV VMA red carpet with transgender service members and veterans. “The stories of patriotic transgender service members and their heroism, like the ones that the world heard just two nights ago at the MTV VMAs, are truly the front lines of defense against Trump’s ill-conceived and poorly researched ban. President Trump may try and pass policies that erase LGBTQ people, but we will never be silent.”
Full bios of the transgender service members and veterans who attended the VMAs are available at: www.glaad.org/blog/meet-transgender-service-members-walking-iconic-2017-mtv-vma-red-carpet. Red carpet guests Logan and Laila Ireland first came out as transgender service members in The New York Times Emmy® nominated short film, “Transgender, at War and in Love.” Their full story and that of Capt. Jennifer Peace, who also attended the VMAs, is coming out in the soon to be released feature documentary, TransMilitary.
Trump’s ban on transgender service members from openly serving in the U.S. Military summarizes the full-scale attack on LGBTQ Americans by the Trump Administration. Since President Trump’s inauguration, the administration has stopped at nothing to erase LGBTQ acceptance from the federal government. This includes appointing the most anti-LGBTQ administration in recent memory, deleting any mention of “LGBTQ” from government websites, and rescinding guidance that protects transgender students at their schools. GLAAD has cataloged every anti-LGBTQ action by the Trump Administration under its Trump Accountability Project.
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August 29, 2017
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Mattis Says Trans Troops Can Continue Serving for Now
Mattis Says Trans Troops Can Continue Serving for Now
Defense Secretary James Mattis today said a panel will study how best to address trans service, and nothing will change until the study is done.
www.advocate.com/military/2017/8/29/mattis-says-trans-troops-can-continue-serving-now
Joel Osteen’s Church Opens to Harvey Evacuees; He Says It Was Never Closed
Joel Osteen’s Church Opens to Harvey Evacuees; He Says It Was Never Closed
The megachurch pastor, who has a not-great record on LGBT issues, was criticized for not taking in evacuees earlier.
2017-08-27 17.11.08
How Princess Diana Became a Gay Icon
How Princess Diana Became a Gay Icon
“Goodbye England’s rose” sang Elton John to a packed Westminster Abbey and a nation in mourning on September 6 1997. It was an unusual and unprecedented moment that marked the end of an extraordinary life and the start of the unparalleled deification of a posh girl from Norfolk once married to our future king. Twenty years…
The post How Princess Diana Became a Gay Icon appeared first on Towleroad.
Melania wore stilettos to visit Hurricane Harvey damage, and Twitter’s having a field day
Melania wore stilettos to visit Hurricane Harvey damage, and Twitter’s having a field day
“Stiletto pumps in da flood.”
Hurricane Harvey, Melania Trump, Kathy Griffin, Robert Mueller, Coldplay, Ellen DeGeneres: HOT LINKS
Hurricane Harvey, Melania Trump, Kathy Griffin, Robert Mueller, Coldplay, Ellen DeGeneres: HOT LINKS
WHAT A CROWD. WHAT A TURNOUT. Trump addresses Hurricane Harvey disaster in Corpus Christi.
APPROPRIATE ATTIRE? Melania Trump wears stilettos to Texas for Hurricane disaster visit.
ELLEN DEGENERES. Texas, I love you.
Texas, I love you. #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/z1ly4bFG7l
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 28, 2017
ONLY MORONS PAY THE ESTATE TAX. What Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, told a group of Senate Democrats: ‘A source close to Mr. Cohn denied that he had used the word, saying he had been referring to “rich people with really bad tax planning.”’
BEHEADING. Kathy Griffin says she and Anderson Cooper are no longer friends.
FLOTUS. Melania’s office slams media.
from @FLOTUS comms dir: “It’s sad that we have an active and ongoing natural disaster in Texas, and people are worried about her shoes.”
— Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) August 29, 2017
RON DESANTIS. Congressman proposes amendment to stop Muellier investigation into Trump and Russia: “The amendment was submitted as part of the upcoming spending package the lower chamber is expected to weigh after the congressional recess.”
GAY PANIC DEFENSE. Banned in Illinois.
AUSTRALIA. Canberra government launches rainbow buses to promote marriage equality: “The rainbow bus wraps cost $22,000, sourced from the existing Transport Canberra and City Services budget, and will be seen on buses for a minimum of three months.”
COLDPLAY. A song for Houston. “I’m dreamin’ of when I get back to Houston, I’m dreamin’ of that very special place. I’m dreamin’ of when Houston has no problems, in that city where they send you into space.”
JOHANNESBURG. 34-year-old man beaten at music fest for being gay: “My friend and I were just dancing on the dance floor. I don’t know at this stage if this guy [the alleged perpetrator] got upset by my friend and I showing affection, but we literally looked at him and then he crushed my nose, and knocked out my teeth.”
TEASER OF THE DAY. Blade Runner 2049.
TOO HOT TUESDAY. Micah Marquez.
The post Hurricane Harvey, Melania Trump, Kathy Griffin, Robert Mueller, Coldplay, Ellen DeGeneres: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
Hurricane Harvey, Melania Trump, Kathy Griffin, Robert Mueller, Coldplay, Ellen DeGeneres: HOT LINKS
How to Help Texas Today
How to Help Texas Today
HRC’s thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. We will stand with Texas and the entire region in the days, weeks and months ahead.
While we’ve watched the destruction unfold, we’ve also witnessed fellow Americans step up and show the true character of our country. Neighbors put their lives on the line to rescue one another. Everyday citizens became heroes by leading others to safety. And Texans have powerfully united to show immense strength through the darkest of hours.
At HRC, we know that when one community hurts, all of America hurts. That’s why we’re urgently supporting organizations with their recovery efforts. HRC leaders on the ground in Texas have suggested the following local groups who are serving Texans:
- HURRICANE HARVEY RELIEF FUND. Officially established by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Greater Houston Community Foundation, this fund is committed to delivering flood relief to victims both immediately and in the long term. DONATE NOW .
- MONTROSE LGBTQ CENTER. Help LGBTQ individuals and families in Houston. The Center is dedicated to increasing their resources and outreach after this disaster. DONATE NOW.
- ORGANIZACION LATINA DE TRANS EN TEXAS. OLTT serves transgender Latinas in Texas. Their targeted work is critical to reaching the transgender community in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. (Click the orange “Donate” button at the top of the page) DONATE NOW .
- HOUSTON FOOD BANK. Help get meals to those in need across the Houston area. They are working tirelessly to serve displaced families but demand continues to surpass supply during this urgent time. DONATE NOW.
Thousands of HRC members and supporters call Texas home. They will be in our thoughts as they recover. But before that process can begin, we must have their backs in the days ahead. Will you join us by making a donation to fuel the critical work in serving those impacted by Hurricane Harvey? Please consider making a gift to the organizations listed above.
www.hrc.org/blog/how-to-help-texas-today?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
