Washington, D.C. — Today the White House issued a long-awaited policy following months of study by the Pentagon on issues regarding enlistment, recruitment, and open service of transgender individuals in the United States military. As the organization that led the charge on repeal of the discriminatory Clinton-era policy of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell affecting gay and lesbian service members, Log Cabin Republicans has been actively engaged in supporting open service for transgender soldiers.
The policy disqualifies most transgender individuals from serving, while deferring to the Department of Defense and its declaration that transgender service members who were retained or enrolled prior to this new policy will be allowed to continue in the employ of the military.
In response, Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo issued the following statement:
This policy change indicates a confounding disconnect — by allowing for the continued open service of current transgender soldiers, the Pentagon has essentially admitted that there is ultimately no difficulty with the status quo. Preventing future accessions of transgender personnel suggests that this new policy has been reverse-engineered to achieve an outcome likely to succeed in little more than stoking culture wars. Log Cabin Republicans commends the brave LGBT military personnel who put their lives on the line to keep us free, and recommits to fighting for their freedoms.