AfricaTopSuccess They make Africa
Joe Biden the new American president revoked the Trump administration’s ban on openly transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military through executive order Monday morning, calling it “the right thing to do.”
“President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity,” the White House said in a fact sheet announcing its plans. “America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive. The military is no exception. Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.”
Biden had promised to reverse Trump’s ban as one of the first acts of his presidency. Trump had announced the ban via tweet in 2017, terminating a decision by the Obama administration in 2016 to allow openly transgender people to join the military.
Read more: Uganda: the authorities threaten those who use VPN
“This is reinstating a position that previous commanders as well as the secretaries have supported,” Biden told reporters as he signed the order. He was joined in the Oval Office by Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley.
“What I’m doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform. Transgender personnel, if qualified in every other way, can serve their government in the United States military.”
