President Biden signed an executive order overturning the Trump administration’s ban on transgender troops serving in the military.
Biden signed the order on Monday, which sets a new policy establishing that all people in the United States who are qualified to serve in the military should be able to do so.
“President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity. This question of how to enable all qualified Americans to serve in the military is easily answered by recognizing our core values,” the White House said in a statement.
“America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive,” the statement continued. “The military is no exception. Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.”
The order directs the secretaries of the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to take “all necessary steps to ensure” that all “directives, orders, regulations, and policies” comply with the order. It also immediately prohibits any involuntary separations, discharges, and denials of reenlistment on the basis of gender identity.
The president also ordered the appropriate Cabinet members to brief him on their progress within 60 days.
“This is a victory for our clients who want the opportunity to serve their country openly and freely in our armed forces. Discrimination should have no place in our country and in our federal government,” said Josh Block, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Project. “We look forward to working with the Biden administration to quickly resolve our lawsuit and eliminate any remaining barriers to full participation for transgender service members. The ACLU’s work to ensure all LGBTQ people can live openly and freely is not over, but today, we celebrate and applaud this historic step forward.”
Former President Donald Trump first tweeted in July 2017 that transgender people would not be allowed “to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” The Supreme Court let the ban stand in a 5-4 vote in January 2019 after two federal judges ruled to block it after the ACLU sued the government. The final version of the ban went into effect on April 12.
Former President Barack Obama ended an era in which transgender people were not allowed to serve openly in the armed forces in June 2016.
