Wednesday, July 19th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Yesterday, Trump tweeted that the military would no longer “accept or allow” those who identify as transgender to serve in the military, claiming the burden of the cost and disruption (remember where we heard that before? African Americans, women, gays....) . http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/343847-trump-calls-for-ban-on-transgender-individuals-in-military This announcement serves as a huge set back for transgender rights, and does not detail what will happen to those service members who have already come out as transgender. This discriminatory policy is cruel and stigmatizing, and even Republicans have condemned it. But words aren’t enough.  Let’s contact our reps and tell them to add language to the “security-bus” spending bill to overturn the ban, then let's make sure the White House, Secretary of Defense, and our members of Congress understand that banning openly transgender individuals is unacceptable and ask how they plan to handle other expensive or disruptive situations among our service members.  White House:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis: Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000 703-571-3343