1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

Transgender Troops, and Missed Moral Clarity Dear Congressman Pallone, Your recent post about the Supreme Court allowing the transgender troop ban to proceed disappointed me—not because you’re wrong, but because you said so little when this moment demands so much more. Your post asked a rhetorical question instead of issuing a moral statement. It offered a flash of outrage, but no clarity, no context, and no compassion that reflects the actual scope of what this policy will do. Here’s the truth: this will cost lives. It will cost veterans their healthcare, families their income, communities their protectors, and taxpayers their dollars. It will destabilize trust and send the message—again—that transgender Americans are disposable, even in service to a country they love. The Supreme Court didn’t uphold this ban as constitutional. They simply chose to let it proceed under procedural deference. That distinction matters—and your post should have said so. You are a ranking member of Congress. If you post, let it be to educate, not perform. To lead, not react. To affirm what transgender service members deserve to hear: that you see them, you’ve spoken to them, you understand the cost of this policy, and you will fight like it’s personal. Because it is. And if you’re not meeting with transgender constituents in New Jersey—service members, youth, parents—then you’re not legislating from the full truth. So I’ll ask plainly: Do you personally know anyone who is transgender and their families? Can you speak for them—not just the policy, but the impact so their neighbors hear their voice through you. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Maybe it doesn’t occur to you—because it doesn’t affect you.” That’s the risk every time proximity is missing in power. The work of representation isn’t to speak for people. It’s to listen to them until you can speak with them. And until then, it is your duty to listen more than report disheartening news like this and ask questions that talk down to people’s intelligence. Maybe it doesn’t occur to you that the majority of constituents say they don’t know someone who is transgender.