Earlier this week the American Medical Association (AMA) approved a resolution
saying there is “no medically valid reason to exclude transgender
individuals from service in the U.S. military.” The Human Rights
Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, hailed the resolution
saying it should compel Secretary Carter to take action.
“This important resolution from the nation’s largest
association of physicians should be a catalyst for Secretary Carter to
take action and update the outdated regulations preventing transgender
troops from serving openly and honestly,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “Not only is there no valid medical reason for this ban to continue, but there is no valid reason, period.”
HRC has repeatedly called for the Department of
Defense to end the ban on transgender service members. Most recently,
HRC highlighted this call to action along with four other items that the
Obama Administration should take to advance fairness and equality for
LGBT troops. Part of HRC’s 2015 Blueprint for Positive Change – a series of actions the administration can take to change the lives of LGBT Americans for the better – these items include:
Department of Defense
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Revise Restrictions on Transgender Individuals Serving in the Military
There are approximately
15,500 actively serving transgender members of the U.S. military, making
the Department of Defense (DOD) the largest employer of transgender
people in America. These courageous service members are forced to serve
in silence by DOD medical regulations prohibiting their service and
requiring their separation from the military if discovered. These
regulations are outdated and out of step with current medical practice.
Unlike the statutory ban that interfered with lesbian, gay, and bisexual
service members from serving (known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) the ban
on transgender military service is regulatory and only requires action
by the Department of Defense to update. The Secretary of Defense should
immediately direct the chief medical personnel in each service branch to
update their medical regulations, which would pave the way for
transgender military service. In addition, the Secretary of Defense
should issue regulations that extend non-discrimination protections to
transgender service members.
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Include Non-Discrimination Protections for Service Members Based on Sexual Orientation
Civilian Department of
Defense employees may file a complaint for discrimination based on their
sexual orientation. The regulations also prohibit retaliation of any
kind for filing a complaint. Unfortunately, this same protection has not
been extended to the uniform services, leaving many LGB service members
with limited options for addressing incidents of discrimination and
harassment for themselves and actions against their families. Service
members also deserve these core protections. The Secretary of Defense
should issue regulations that extend non-discrimination protections
based on sexual orientation in the military equal opportunity program.
Department of Veterans Affairs
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Ensure Transgender Veterans Have Full Access to Transition Related Care
Currently, the Department of
Veterans Affairs does not provide the full range of medically necessary
care to transgender veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs should
revise its regulations to ensure transgender veterans have access to
all medically necessary services and treatments for transition related
care.
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Provide Increased Cultural Competency Training for Service Providers
Long-term discrimination by
the federal government against LGBT service members has left many LGBT
veterans hesitant that their needs will be met with care and attention,
or has left them with the misunderstanding that they are not entitled to
government services. The Department of Veterans Affairs should provide
cultural competency training to service providers to ensure LGBT
veterans are comfortable coming out to their service providers and to
ensure LGBT veterans are receiving respectful, appropriate care.
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Provide a Blanket Waiver to Same-Sex Couples to Ensure Access to Veterans’ Burial Rights Regardless of State of Residency
Burial rights for the spouse
of a veteran are determined by the validity of the marriage in the
state of residence. Many same-sex couples continue to live in states
that fail to recognize their marriages, and sadly, some veterans passed
away before marriage equality arrived in their home state. Currently,
the Department of Veterans Affairs is making determinations about
whether the same-sex spouse of a veteran in a non-marriage equality
state can be buried in a national cemetery on a case-by-case basis. The
Department of Veterans Affairs should provide a blanket waiver to
same-sex couples to ensure access to veterans’ burial rights regardless
of the state of the couples’ residency.
The entire 2015 Blueprint for Positive Change can be found here.