Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) voted in favor of H.Res. 124, a bipartisan resolution opposing President Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Kuster is a cosponsor of the bill, which rejects the flawed scientific and medical claims the ban is based on and urges the Department of Defense to not reinstate the ban and instead maintain an inclusive policy allowing qualified transgender Americans to enlist and serve in the military.

“Today’s vote is a clear rejection of the bigotry and flawed logic behind President Trump’s disgraceful ban on transgender Americans serving in our military,” said Kuster. “In addition to violating our nation’s core values, this policy would deprive our armed forces of talented and patriotic individuals, weakening our military readiness. I’m pleased the House took this action today, and I urge the President and the Department of Defense to uphold a policy that allows all capable Americans to serve openly in our military without fear of dismissal because of who they are.”

Kuster has been outspoken in her opposition to the President’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, which the President announced in July 2017 without consulting the Pentagon. Transgender Americans have been able to serve openly in the military since 2016. This was a result of an Obama Administration decision that was made after a group of military leaders and defense experts commissioned a study which determined that having transgender individuals openly serving in the military would have “minimal impact on readiness and health care costs” and “little or no impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness.”

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