1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am contacting you today to express my concern about the President’s recent moves to ban transgender servicemembers in our U.S. military. The President’s recent statements for the rationale of this ban are quite frankly ridiculous and uneducated. This malicious slander of the realities of our brave trans-identified military personnel does everyone a disservice, igniting hate and bias and discrimination unnecessarily. A dear friend of mine has been in the U.S. Navy for over two decades now. Recently, my friend disclosed to me that they are in the process of transitioning after years of coming to terms with their gender identity. They have had a distinguished military career and is seen by colleagues as an exemplary military officer. They fought in Iraq, has been a leader on multiple aircraft carriers stationed around the globe, and that career is now jeopardized because of genderism and transphobia. It is just reprehensible to me. In a time when we need good military personnel, it does not make any sense for this ban to take effect. As a result, I implore you to speak up and advocate through legislation to protect our trans servicemembers, like my dear friend, who have sacrificed much for their country and fellow citizens. They need support from our legislative leaders to not be dismissed for illegitimate and misinformed reasons. Again, I implore you to act and advocate.