Congress Rebukes Trump’s Trans Military Discrimination

Hundreds of Democrats and a handful of Republicans took a stand against the Trump administration's trans military ban this week, by passing a resolution opposing the restrictive new policy.

In a vote of 238-185, the House of Representatives passed a resolution that "strongly opposes [President Donald Trump]'s discriminatory ban on transgender members of the Armed Forces," CNN reports. The resolution also "strongly urges the Department of Defense to not reinstate President Trump's ban" and "to maintain an inclusive policy allowing qualified transgender Americans to enlist and serve in the Armed Forces."

Every Democratic member of the House voted for the resolution, while all but five Republican representatives voted against it.

Opponents of the ban -- a discriminatory policy set to go into effect on April 12 that would only allow trans people to serve in the military if they did so as their assigned sex at birth, effectively barring most trans people from service -- likened it to discrimination. Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts argued that trans people "cannot be banned from military service because of who they are," the Associated Press reports, and that the policy, first announced in a series of tweets two years ago, is nothing more than "targeted discrimination."

"The military wants and needs transgender service members, but this president is ready to put his own prejudice ahead of science and military readiness," Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement to the AP. "It is more important than ever for Congress to stand up for troops and reject this flagrantly dangerous policy."

RELATED | Trump's Trans Military Ban Can Officially Go Into Effect on April 12th