WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Defense celebrated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Pride Month at a DoDPride celebration held at the Pentagon. Recognizing the importance of the occasion, the American Military Partner Association (AMPA), the nation’s largest organization of LGBT military families, issued the following statement:
“Today’s event was an incredibly important celebration of diversity and the strength that it brings to our nation’s Armed Forces,” said AMPA President Ashley Broadway-Mack, who attended the event with other AMPA military families. “But while it was a time to celebrate the tremendous progress we’ve made within the Department of Defense, it was also a stark reminder of the work we still have to accomplish for full LGBT equality in the military. The continued delay in lifting the ban on open service for transgender service members is frustrating and deeply disappointing for so many of our families. It’s been almost a year since Secretary Carter made the historic announcement that the Pentagon would lift the ban, yet transgender service members and their families are still in limbo. These heroes have earned the right to be able to serve as their authentic selves, and we must ensure that happens.
The DoD first started observing June as LGBT Pride Month in 2012, following the successful repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). At this year’s event, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus gave remarks, and Under Secretary of the U.S. Army Patrick Murphy and Admiral Mike Mullen were honored for their leadership in the fight for LGBT equality in the military.
In July of last year, Secretary Carter made history with an announcement that the DoD would finally update the outdated regulations that prevent open service by transgender service members and would take six months to assess the impact of the change and work out the details. The working group started with the presumption that “transgender persons can serve openly without adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness, unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified.” Unfortunately almost a year later, those critically important changes have still not yet been made.
In June of 2015, the American Medical Association approved a resolution saying there is “no medically valid reason to exclude transgender individuals from service in the U.S. military.”
In March of 2015, AMPA launched an unprecedented joint report with the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) highlighting the tremendous harm the outdated regulations inflict on military families. The report notes, “The outdated regulations serve no purpose and only dehumanize and prevent qualified and capable individuals from enlisting and serving. The ban perpetuates trauma to all those involved, both the service member and their family.”
There are an estimated 15,500 transgender service members currently serving.
