Congress Can Act on Trans Military Ban

Transgender military veterans at last month's VMAs

Interesting article from the ACLU about the recent U.S. Senate amendment that would block a major part of Trump’s ban on transgender service members for those currently enlisted. The piece notes that despite some reports, Secretary James Mattis is studying how to implement the ban, not whether to institute it.

On Monday, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Susan Collins of Maine introduced a bipartisan amendment to the defense authorization bill that would block President Trump’s disgraceful and unconstitutional ban on transgender service members for those currently enlisted. To be clear, the amendment would not halt every aspect of the ban — such as blocking transgender service members from receiving necessary transition-related health care — but it would lay down an important line in the sand. 

Senators will now have a choice to make. They can either stand up for the thousands of transgender service members who volunteered to defend this country and serve with distinction in the armed forces, or they can stand with the ugly discrimination of Trump’s ban. 

Read on HERE.

Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN Sue Trump Over Transgender Military Service Ban

We knew on Nov. 9 that the courts were our only hope moving forward. Although the highest one in the land eventually let us down on the Muslim "travel" ban -- has the administration "figured out what's going on" yet? -- suing is all we can do. And suing we are over Trump's latest assault on the LGBTQ community and the U.S. Constitution.

Lambda Legal reports:

Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s ban on military service by transgender individuals.

The lawsuit — brought in response to President Trump’s formal issuance of directions to military authorities late Friday — was filed on behalf of two individuals who seek to join the military; one current service member who seeks appointment as an officer; the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy organization; and Gender Justice League, a gender and sexuality civil and human rights organization, headquartered in Seattle.

“This ban not only wrongfully prevents patriotic, talented Americans from serving, it also compromises the safety and security of our country,” Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Peter Renn said.

“Thousands of current service members are transgender, and many have been serving openly, courageously and successfully in the U.S. military for more than a year — not to mention the previous decades when many were forced to serve in silence," Renn added. "Once again attacking a vulnerable population based on bias, political opportunism and demonstrably untrue ‘alternative facts,’ President Trump is denying brave men and women the opportunity to serve our country without any legitimate justification whatsoever.”

“We promised that we would sue if the president took this action. The law is on our side; justice is on our side," said Peter Perkowski, Legal Director for OutServe-SLDN. "And we are on the side of every single transgender service member and those who want to serve. The nation’s courts exist to protect the people whom tyrants would otherwise abuse. Trump can’t tweet his way out of this one.”

Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Major legal scholars say the ban is indeed unconstitutional. But my understanding is the commander in chief has enormous amount leeway on such matters -- and god knows the Supreme Court's makeup isn't as friendly as it should be after the death of Antonin Scalia. (F**king Mitch McConnell is truly evil.) The only silver lining I see in this is that maybe General James Mattis -- who doesn't exactly run the Donald Trump Fan Club -- won't expel existing trans service members and the ban for new recruits can always be lifted again when a non-lunatic takes office, whenever that is. It shouldn't have to be this way. But a small group of morons in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan thought they knew better than former presidents and vice presidents, state and territorial governors, U.S. senators and representatives, former members of the federal judiciary, dozens of federal department officials -- current and former -- ambassadors, U.S. attorneys, media advisers, operatives, pollsters, numerous Republican figures as well as every newspaper editorial board in the nation.

UPDATE: Is Mattis plotting to undermine the whole transphobic scheme? Read HERE.

White House Set to Follow Through on Transgender Military Ban

Caught wind of this last night in the newsroom but hoped I would wake up and it would have been a bad dream. The White House is finally getting around to following up on Donald Trump's hate-filled tweets about transgenders in the military -- apparently wanting to serve your country is a "burden" to him -- with The Wall Street Journal reporting that the administration is expected to send guidance to the Pentagon in coming days on how to implement a new ban on transgender people in the military. Most disturbing -- or encouraging, depending on your point of view -- is that it will include a stipulation that will allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to consider a service member’s "deployability" in deciding whether to kick him or her out of the military. While the idea that not all transgenders will be immediately discharged is encouraging -- all new recruits will, however -- I don't like this arbitrary game of "Survivor" that's being inserted into the U.S. military. (Aren't all servicemembers fit to be deployed? And if they're not, why are transgenders being held to a different standard than the average military member?) Disgusting and completely unnecessary. And all because Trump reacted like a 2-year-old stomping his feet when he was told by military brass that he shouldn't ban transgenders. Meanwhile in Canada, they get THIS.

Transgender People Will Be Allowed to Serve Openly in Military

I just become enraged when people -- especially LGBT friends -- say there is barely any light between the Republican and Democratic parties. Do you really think any of this would be possible under Presidents McCain or Romney? 

The New York Times reports:

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Thursday removed one of the final barriers to military service by lifting the Pentagon’s ban on transgender people serving openly in the armed forces. The decision pushes forward a transformation of the military that Mr. Carter has accelerated in the last year with the opening of all combat roles to women and the appointment of the first openly gay Army secretary. He made his feelings on ending the transgender ban clear last year, when he called it outdated and ordered officials across the military to begin examining what would need to be done to lift the prohibition.

Soldiers at Ease With Black Socks

Overheard a millennial talking about the Army's decision to now allow soldiers to wear black socks with their Army physical fitness uniform -- 67 percent preferred it -- and realized he was so young he (almost certainly) had no recollection of how black socks with shorts was something only your embarrassing dad (or seniors in Miami Beach) did until Andre Agassi changed the fashion landscape -- all but making white socks seem out of place. I can remember guys at the movie theater where I worked in high school wearing white socks with "dickies" of black material around the top so they could pass for black, which was required as part of the dress code, because cool guys ONLY wore white socks.

Oh, Dad!

The funniest thing is Agassi's fashion statement didn't exactly seem like a no-brainer. 

When he first started doing it -- when he was still wearing the weave(!) -- he wore them with these white high-top tennis shoes that had a black tongue, which had the unfortunate effect of making it look like he was scurrying around the court in a pair of white pumps with little black socks underneath. (It was particularly hilarious if you squinted!)

Now, of course, even fashion icon Roger Federer wears dark socks, and looks like a million bucks doing so.

Penis Transplants Planned to Help Wounded Troops

Incredibly hopeful news out of Johns Hopkins University for men wounded in action. Could this also be a turning point for transgender men? Read HERE.

Service With a Smile

We all have heard the horror stories of being gay in the military -- before and after Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But if "Private Benjamin" taught us anything, it's that a fish-out-of-water story can be funny, as Greg Cope White's "The Pink Marine: One Boy's Journey Through Boot Camp to Manhood" makes abundantly clear.

 He writes:

My book is a humorous look at a serious time. It's about my stint as a gay teenager in pre-DADT Maine Corps. Trust me, I shouldn't have been in there, but the military turned out to be an incredible gift for me. Kirkus pointed out that I give a "surprisingly reverent view of the Marine Corps and military service." My publisher bought the book because it was the first memoir that put military service by a gay man in a positive light. I lied and cheated to get in the Marines; technically I was a terrible employee. But they were wonderful to me. That's sadly not everyone's story, but it's mine.

Order HERE.

Description:

When Greg Cope White's best friend tells him he is spending his summer in Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, all Greg hears is "summer" and "camp." Despite dire warnings from his friend, Greg vows to join him in recruit training. He is eighteen, underweight, he's never run a mile-and he is gay. It's 1979-long before Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, and with no LGBT rights in place in most states, and the Marines having a very definite expulsion policy in place for gay people when it comes to military personnel, will Greg even survive? The Pink Marine is the story-full of hilarity and heartbreak-of how a teenage boy who struggles with self-acceptance and his sexuality and doesn't fit the traditional definition of manliness-finds acceptance and self-worth in Marine Corps boot camp. Greg's sheltered life has not prepared him for military service. At first he struggles to keep up, and afraid his secret will be discovered. But midway through, the desire to survive and become a Marine trumps fear. He learns that everyone comes into the service feeling "different"; possibly prejudged for the color of their skin, their weight, their poverty-some have even chosen boot camp over jail. In this land before Gay Pride became almost a national holiday, can a flighty, 112-pound, effeminate Texan transform into one of the few, the proud, the Marines?

Obama Names First Openly Gay Secretary of Army

Exiting news, although it figures a gay guy would just be a secretary. 

The New York Times reports:

President Obama is nominating Eric Fanning, a close civilian adviser to Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, to be the secretary of the Army, the White House said on Friday. If confirmed, Mr. Fanning would be the first openly gay person in that post. Mr. Fanning has been the acting under secretary of the Army as the current secretary, John McHugh, prepares to leave his post. The appointment of Mr. Fanning has been widely expected. Mr. Fanning, a graduate of Dartmouth College, is well liked at the Pentagon. His Defense Department jobs have spanned the services: He has served as Air Force under secretary, deputy under secretary of the Navy, and deputy chief management officer of the Navy. Mr. Fanning has also served as Mr. Carter’s chief of staff.

Oh, wait.

Pentagon Moves to End Its Transgender Ban

Very good news -- and much overdue.

From a DoD news release:

Working Group to Study Implications of Transgender Service 

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2015 – A Defense Department working group will study the policy and readiness implications of welcoming transgender persons to serve openly in the military, and its work will presume they can do so unless objective and practical impediments are identified, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced today. In a statement announcing the working group, Carter said that over the last 14 years of conflict, the Defense Department has proven itself to be a learning organization. “This is true in war, where we have adapted to counterinsurgency, unmanned systems, and new battlefield requirements such as [mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles],” Carter said. “It is also true with respect to institutional activities, where we have learned from how we repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," from our efforts to eliminate sexual assault in the military, and from our work to open up ground combat positions to women. “Throughout this time,” he continued, “transgender men and women in uniform have been there with us, even as they often had to serve in silence alongside their fellow comrades in arms.”

Outdated Regulations Causing Uncertainty

The Defense Department's current regulations regarding transgender service members are outdated and are causing uncertainty that distracts commanders from DoD’s core missions, the secretary said. “At a time when our troops have learned from experience that the most important qualification for service members should be whether they're able and willing to do their job, our officers and enlisted personnel are faced with certain rules that tell them the opposite,” he added. “Moreover, we have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines - real, patriotic Americans - who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that's contrary to our value of service and individual merit.”

Keep reading HERE.

NYT: Hagel ‘Open’ to Review of Military Policy on Transgender People

We're getting there, people. We're getting there. Read HERE.

Morning Wood

Gay Soldier 'Apologizes' to Prince Harry

James Wharton, the gay soldier who wrote in his memoir, "Out in the Army," that Prince Harry saved him from homophobic attacks from fellow army members, says he now plans to apologize to the royal -- sort of.

After being widely criticized for revealing private conversations he had with Harry, he told The Times: "I am sending over a courtesy note. I decided that I ought to say 'sorry' in a way, I guess." Wharton then backpedaled, saying he wasn't "sorry" for making the conversations public: "I don't know. I'm not sorry."

The soldier also wrote about the prince talking about how he lost his virginity and asking Wharton about being gay. Wharton said of his book: "For me, the four weeks I spent with the prince was the highlight. I would be doing myself down if I had pretended it didn't happen."

Fair enough, mate. I say Britain gives this young man the Army Gold Cross for Ambivalence.

Soldier: Prince Harry Saved My Gay Ass

Like we didn't have enough reasons to love Prince Harry comes news that the royal once saved a gay soldier from a homophoibc attack. 

In his new memoir, “Out In The Army: My Life as a Gay Solider,” Lance Corporal James Wharton writes that the alleged incident started while stationed in Canada(!) back in 2008 after Wharton "stupidly" and "proudly" revealed to his squad that he spent the night with another male soldier. He was later confronted by "six extremely angry infantry sergeants." A teary-eyed Wharton decided to approach Harry and told him, “I think I'm about to be murdered by the infantry.” He continued: “I didn't hold back: I told him everything that had gone on. I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes." According to Wharton, the “bewildered” prince quickly responded. "He said: ‘Right. I'm going to sort this [bleep] out once and for all.'" Wharton continues that "Harry climbed out of the tank and started having a go. I worried he was about to make the whole thing worse, but he wasn't holding back. Prince Harry was sticking up for me and putting a stop to the trouble. I had been on track for a battering and had been rescued." Remarkably, Harry allegedly smoothed over the ordeal in minutes: "He came back 10 minutes later and told me the problem had been ‘sorted.'" The former trooper, who left the Army in early 2013, says he "will always be grateful to Harry," adding, "I will never forget what happened."  (Via The Daily Mail)

'Warrior Princess' Tells All

He was a Navy SEAL for 20 years, but now she’s a ‘Warrior Princess’: Transgender woman who served on team that captured bin Laden details her gut-wrenching battle to let out her true identity 

 I know everything's not about civil rights and/or politics, but WOW! I don't think the trans movement could ask for a better story than this one. Read HERE.

Order the book HERE.

Well, He Was an Inspector General

'I opened my eyes and... his hand was down my pants:' Woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by an Air Force combat pilot 'stunned' after top commander reverses conviction 

Read HERE.