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Chelsea Manning On Trans Military Ban: 'Sounds Like Cowardice'
No one's been more vocal, or uniquely close to the issue.
July 26 2017 5:44 PM EST
March 08 2019 12:55 AM EST
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Since Donald Trump announced over Twitter this morning that transgender people would no longer be allowed to serve in the US military, the Internet has shown its outrage in full force, and no one's been more vocal, or uniquely close to the issue, than former soldier Chelsea Manning. She responded to Trump's ban with some choice Tweets of her own:
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after leaking military documents to the public, but had her sentence commuted by President Obama just before he left office. While incarcerated, Manning underwent gender confirmation treatment, after being forced to go on a five-day hunger strike in order to be provided with the medical care she required.
Related | Chelsea Manning Opens Up in First Interview Since Release From Prison
A lawyer of Manning's, Chase Strangio, who serves as a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, also shared his feelings on Trump's claims this morning, Tweeting:
The National Center for Transgender Equality reports that at least 15,000 transgender people today are actively serving in the military, and that there are at least 134,000 trans veterans in America.
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