Heeding Pappas’s Calls, Biden Removes Transgender Military Ban
Manchester, N.H. - Today, President Biden signed an Executive Order repealing the Trump Administration's policy to bar transgender Americans from openly serving in the military. This action follows years of advocacy from Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) who serves as a Co-Chair of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus.
"Since the day that the Trump Administration enacted its cruel and bigoted ban on transgender military service, I have fought to reverse it, in addition to introducing legislation that would codify protections for more than 130,000 transgender veterans and 15,000 transgender service members," said Congressman Pappas. "I am pleased that President Biden has taken immediate action to reverse this discriminatory policy and ensure that all Americans who are qualified have the ability to serve openly in the military. This decision upholds our bedrock American values and gives these individuals the dignity and honor they are owed."
Since the day this discriminatory ban was enacted, Pappas served as one of the leading voices in the fight speaking out against the ban on the House Floor and highlighting the contributions of transgender service members and veterans by inviting Tavion Dignard, a transgender man, who served in the United States Navy from 1998-2002 to the State of the Union as his guest.
Congressman Pappas also introduced the SERVE (Securing the Rights our Veterans have Earned) Act of 2019 to guarantee protections for our nation's active duty transgender service members discharged from the Armed Forces under the Trump Administration's discriminatory transgender ban. This legislation takes critical steps to protect the physical and emotional health of these veterans by ensuring they are not denied VA healthcare benefits if they receive an Other Than Honorable (OTH) or Entry-Level Separation (ELS) discharge because of their gender identity. It also guarantees VA healthcare coverage for any veteran discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" who has not yet requested to have their discharge papers corrected.