On the heels of President Trump’s announcement banning transgender troops from serving, LGBTQ leaders sprang into action on Wednesday, rallying against the president’s discriminatory messages.
In three tweets Wednesday morning, Trump announced he will “not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity” in the military.
As many as 15,000 transgender individuals are already serving in the armed forces, according to a 2014 study by the Williams Institute.
Openly LGBTQ members of Congress and officials from across the U.S. responded online, in press conferences and at a rally in front of the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon:
To the trans community: Do not let this president – or anyone else – make you question your value. Millions of Americans stand with you.
— Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) July 26, 2017
Liar. pic.twitter.com/6wqc5DG833
— Carlos Guillermo Smith (@CarlosGSmith) July 26, 2017
Trump makes our military weaker by arbitrarily kicking out high-performing soldiers based solely on gender identityhttps://t.co/JMurtKXUWl
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) July 26, 2017
The reality is that thousands of transgender Americans serve our country with dignity and honor. We stand with them.
— AG Maura Healey Archived (@AGHealeyArchive) July 26, 2017
.@realDonaldTrump just told 1+ million Americans they are not equal or valued. That is unacceptable from the President of the United States.
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) July 26, 2017
There are 15k transgender members of the military serving our country and @realDonaldTrump wants to remove them from service. Unbelievable.
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) July 26, 2017
A ban against any patriotic American who wants to serve our country is wrong.
— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) July 26, 2017
To my #transandserving friends. You are not a burden; you are true American heroes. #coleg.
— Leslie Herod (@leslieherod) July 26, 2017
Openly gay @RepSeanMaloney: Hate is hate and we will win this fight. #ProtectTransTroops #StandWithTransTroops pic.twitter.com/tP3K1dTXfy
— LGBTQ+ Victory Fund (@VictoryFund) July 26, 2017
And as LGBTQ official, I refuse to look the other way as our president denigrates tens of thousands of trans troops. #StandWithTransTroops pic.twitter.com/JoRQ4Gwu0k
— Rich Madaleno (@RichMadaleno) July 26, 2017
