Dept of defense gays and lesbians lesbian

The change adds sexual orientation to the list of non-discrimination categories — including race, religion and age — meaning gay servicemembers who feel they are being discriminated or retaliated against can file an equal opportunity complaint. Denny Meyer, a spokesman for American Veterans for Equal Rights, which advocates on behalf of LGBT veterans, applauded the move but said the Pentagon needs to go further and protect transgender servicemembers. Asked whether the new policy affected transgender troops, Pentagon spokesman Lt. New protection against discrimination of gays, lesbians in the military. The policy does not change the current ban on transgender people serving in the military. American bases near Tokyo escape deadly Typhoon Hagibis with minimal damage.

The administration's first document, a memo signed by the president, stated that "transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances. The page report stated that the department had concluded "accommodating gender transition could impair unit readiness," "undermine unit cohesion" and "lead to disproportionate costs. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights NCLR , disagreed, claiming such a policy constitutes a "categorical ban" of transgender people from the military by requiring service members to live as their sex assigned at birth. A federal judge issued a court order on Tuesday requiring that the Department of Justice disclose the names of the military experts the Trump administration consulted regarding its transgender military ban. That report found no reason to prevent the enlistment and service of openly transgender individuals. On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Minter said he does not expect any impact on currently enlisted soldiers or those attempting to enlist in the near future.

The Department of Defense has made a lasting commitment to living the values we defend—to treating everyone equally—because we need to be a meritocracy. We have to focus relentlessly on our mission, which means the thing that matters most about a person is what they can contribute to national defense. Uniform Code of Military Justice supersedes service-specific disciplinary policies.

Gay and lesbian service members in the U. For the first time in its straight-laced history, the Pentagon will treat discrimination based on sexual orientation the same as it considers race, religion, color, sex, age and national origin when investigating complaints, Carter said. If they revealed their sexual orientation, they could be kicked out, according to the law.