By John Mack Freeman
This week, Secretary of the United States Air Force Deborah Lee James expressed support for removing the military’s ban on trans soldiers serving openly. This makes her the first leader of one of the branches of the military to publicly support open trans service. She joins House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, and The New York Times, and a host of other LGBT rights groups in calling for the ban to be revised. Via USA Today:
Now that the U.S. military has opened more jobs to women and allowed gay men and lesbians to serve openly, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says the ban on transgender troops is likely to be reassessed and should be lifted.
“Times change,” she told Capital Download, saying the policy “is likely to come under review in the next year or so.” Asked whether dropping the ban would affect military readiness, she replied: “From my point of view, anyone who is capable of accomplishing the job should be able to serve.”
