House Votes to Block Transgender Ban   06/19 06:22

   The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday night to block President 
Donald Trump's move to restrict transgender men and women from military service.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday night to 
block President Donald Trump's move to restrict transgender men and women from 
military service.

   The House passed, by a 243-183 vote, an amendment to block Trump's 
transgender ban from remaining in effect. The move still faces an uphill battle 
and a Trump veto threat against the underlying $1 trillion spending bill, which 
includes the military budget.

   The Trump administration's policy bars people who have undergone gender 
transition from enlisting. It also requires military personnel to serve as 
their biological gender unless they began a gender transition under less 
restrictive Obama administration rules. The policy is being challenged in court.

   "With so much anger and so much hate in the world today, it is time to be 
kind to people," said Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind.

   A GOP opponent, Rep. Ken Calvert of California, said the move "risks 
undermining the readiness of our military at a time when we can least afford 
it."

   But Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., said such arguments were used to justify 
segregation of the military.

   "My service in an integrated armed forces did not harm readiness," said 
Brown, who is African American.

   Under the Obama administration, the Pentagon announced that transgender 
people already serving in the military would be allowed to serve openly. Trump 
reversed that policy beginning in 2017 with a tweet that the government would 
not allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the military.

   An estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the reserves identify as 
transgender, but not all seek treatment. Since July 2016, more than 1,500 
service members have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria; as of Feb. 1, there 
were 1,071 currently serving. The Pentagon says it has spent about $8 million 
on transgender care since 2016. The military's annual health care budget tops 
$50 billion.

   All four service chiefs told Congress last year that they had seen no 
discipline, morale or unit readiness problems with transgender troops serving 
openly in the military. But they also acknowledged that some commanders were 
spending a lot of time with transgender individuals who were working through 
medical requirements and other transition issues.


(CZ)