- Title: LGBT supporters condemn Trump's ban on transgender from U.S. military
- Date: 26th July 2017
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 26, 2017) (REUTERS) WIDE OF CONGRESSMAN JOE KENNEDY III AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONGRESSMAN JOE KENNEDY III, SAYING: "Hidden inside a house that they give life and limb to defend, he attacked their humanity and their basic human rights. To every single transgender man and woman in our military and our shores and well beyond, please know that we will never take your service, your courage, your patriotism, for granted. You deserve better from your president, from your country, from your government than what you have seen today." CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI, SAYING: "The Pentagon spends five times more on Viagra than it does for transition-related care. Five times more on Viagra. This morning's tweets reveal a president with no respect for the courageous men and women who risk their lives to defend our freedoms. This disgusting ban will weaken our military and land that it defends." PELOSI (SOUNDBITE) (English) CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI, SAYING: "Once again, President Trump has shown his conduct is driven not by honor, decency, or national security, but by raw prejudice. And they even said they thought this was a political advantage for them."
- Embargoed: 9th August 2017 20:28
- Keywords: transgender community reaction U.S. military transgender ban Trump's tweets
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., + WOODBURY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., + WOODBURY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016RCVIO7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (July 26) that he would ban transgender people from the U.S. military.
Outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to not allow transgender individuals to serve in the U.S. military in any capacity.
As many as 10,700 transgender people are estimated to be serving in the U.S. military out of 1.4 million overall, according to a 2016 study by the RAND Corp., a California-based defense think tank. Another 134,000 people are transgender veterans, experts estimate.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced last year it was ending a ban on transgender troops serving openly, and it was expected this year to start allowing transgender recruits to join the armed forces. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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