For immediate release: March 24, 2018
Contact: Kyle Murphy, 202-876-2820, kmurphy@aidsunited.org
Washington, DC – Late Friday, President Trump released new orders attempting to bar transgender soldiers from serving in the military, a policy that the nation and our courts have already deemed ugly and unnecessary. In a reprisal of last summer’s infamous attempt at banning transgender servicemembers via Twitter, the White House is once again sowing division for its own partisan political gain. Thousands of transgender individuals, despite the many dangers and countless barriers they face, currently serve in our military with honor and distinction. Any attempt to kick them out or prevent recruits like them from joining is bigotry in its most contemptable form.
“AIDS United opposes this and any policy that tries to use military readiness as an excuse to promote an ideology of discrimination and stigma. Thankfully, President Trump’s attempts to do so have been interrupted by the courts and even by many of his own senior military officials. We encourage these institutions to continue to do so. This nation is built on the principles of freedom and justice, and we stand on their side in this fight. We urge this administration to reconsider its decision and to allow transgender people to serve without qualification.
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AIDS United’s mission is to end the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant-making, capacity building, formative research and policy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV/AIDS care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV/AIDS-related policy for U.S. populations and communities most impacted by the epidemic. To date, our strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $104 million to local communities and have leveraged more than $117 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to HIV prevention, access to care, capacity building, harm reduction and advocacy. www.aidsunited.org.
