WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a bipartisan amendment that would prevent the Department of Defense (DoD) from removing qualified service members from the Armed Forces based solely on their gender identity. Transgender service members have been openly serving since June 2016.
The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would also require Secretary of Defense James Mattis to proceed with his report on military service by transgender individuals and report his findings to Congress.
“Any individual who wants to join our military and meets the standards should be allowed to serve, period. Gender identity should have nothing to do with it,” said Senator Gillibrand, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. “I am proud to work with Senator Collins to introduce our bipartisan amendment to protect transgender members of our Armed Forces, and I will always fight for our brave transgender troops who put their lives on the line to protect our country.”
Specifically, the Gillibrand-Collins amendment would:
Express a sense of Congress that individuals who are qualified and can meet the standards to serve in the military should be eligible to serve;
Prohibit DOD from involuntarily separating, or denying the reenlistment or continuation in service in the Armed Forces of, currently serving transgender service members solely on the basis of the member’s gender identity;
Require Secretary Mattis to complete his review of accession of transgender individuals into the Armed Forces by the end of this year and report the results to Congress.
