New York, NY, July 26, 2017 …

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today strongly criticized President Trump’s declaration that the U.S. government would no longer allow transgender individuals to serve in the military, slamming the new policy as “deeply objectionable and blatantly discriminatory.”

            “It’s a sad day when the President of the United States declares that transgender Americans are unwelcome in the United States military,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “This policy is deeply objectionable – it devalues individual Americans and is blatantly discriminatory. We’ll fight against this unpatriotic ban of transgender troops. We cannot let bigotry stop Americans from serving their country.

“It is especially bitter and ironic that President Trump is attempting to place unnecessary and discriminatory barriers against transgender military service on the very anniversary of President Harry Truman’s executive action in 1948 to desegregate the military.”

It is estimated that as many as 150,000 transgender individuals have served in the U.S. military in all branches. A Rand Corporation study recently indicated that 18 countries allow transgender military personnel to serve openly, and that “evidence from foreign militaries and the U.S. military has indicated no significant impact on unit cohesion or operational readiness as a result of allowing transgender and gay and lesbian personnel to serve openly.”