Republican National Committee Slanders Transgender Service Members

AMPA strongly condemns RNC resolution saying transgender people have "a disqualifying psychological and physical" condition 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 2, 2018 - Today, the American Military Partner Association (AMPA) - the nation's largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) military spouses, families, and allies - strongly condemned a Republican National Committee (RNC) vote passing a resolution backing President Trump's attempt to kick transgender service members out of the military and block qualified transgender recruits from entering the military. The resolution states the military should consider transgender people as having 'a disqualifying psychological and physical' condition."

"Shame on the Republican National Committee for slandering the brave transgender men and women who serve our nation," said AMPA President Ashley Broadway-Mack. "Not only did the RNC just degrade active duty service members, but they also maligned countless military families across the country with family members who also happen to be transgender. This is a disgusting, vile attempt to play politics with the lives of our military families." 

While President Trump has tried to reinstate a discriminatory transgender military ban, courts have so far blocked it from being implemented. AMPA is an organizational plaintiff in one of the lawsuits challenging the ban - Karnoski v. Trump, brought by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN on behalf of nine individuals, AMPA, the Human Rights Campaign, and Gender Justice League.

Estimates show there are thousands of transgender troops currently serving, and on January 1, 2018, the military began accepting new qualified transgender recruits into the Armed Forces - due to court decisions blocking Trump's ban.

The far majority of Americans believe transgender people should be allowed to serve, and the bipartisan outrage over the President's ban was swift and severe. 56 retired generals and admirals warned that the ban would degrade military readiness. 

The American Medical Association (AMA) has made clear there is no medical rationale for banning transgender people from the military.

The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) is the nation's largest organization of LGBT military spouses, their families, and allies. A non-profit organization with more than 50,000 members and supporters, AMPA is committed to education, advocacy, and support for "modern military families." For more information, visit www.MilitaryPartners.org