U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas said the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to allow the Trump administration to restrict service by transgender men and women for now backward, and a blow to the rights and dignity of transgender service members.
Pappas, a Democrat and the first openly gay member of Congress from New Hampshire, said Tuesday the plan "makes us less safe and politicizes our military."
Pappas said the decision is a "sobering reminder of the work ahead of us to protect LGBTQ rights and demand full equality."
The decision clears the way for the Pentagon to bar enlistment by people who have undergone a gender transition. It will also allow the administration to require that military personnel serve as members of their biological gender unless they began a gender transition under less restrictive Obama administration rules.
