Watch GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi, National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter, and plaintiffs Nicolas Talbott and Blaire McIntyre as they discuss the impacts of President Biden’s lifting of the transgender military ban and how it marks a turning point for transgender rights.
Blaire McIntryre (plaintiff, McIntyre v. Whitmer) is a Specialist in the Michigan Army National Guard and previously served in the active-duty Army 101st Airborne Division. She currently works as a uniformed civilian National Guard employee specializing in armament.
Nicolas Talbott (plaintiff, Stockman v. Trump) is an aspiring service member from southeastern Ohio. Nic was enrolled in his university’s Army ROTC program before the transgender military ban went into effect and now seeks to return to ROTC with the goal of commissioning as an Intelligence Officer.
President Biden has already followed through on his strong commitment to fairness, equity and civil rights by quickly undoing some of the worst harms perpetrated by the Trump administration.
Alongside plans to address our national health, economic, and climate crises, Biden’s earliest actions have included reversing the Muslim travel ban, supporting DREAMers, and issuing orders focused on advancing racial justice. He also signed a powerful executive order prohibiting LGBTQ federal workplace discrimination and directing federal agencies to take steps to ensure federal laws that prohibit sex discrimination apply in equal force to LGBTQ people.
I am tremendously proud and relieved to see this day arrive. And I am incredibly grateful to our plaintiffs, partners, supporters, and everyone who has worked against this insidious ban for the past three and a half years.
It has been an honor to work alongside so many talented servicemembers and aspiring recruits in this fight. Their demonstrated commitment to service and their willingness to share their stories have not only corrected a damaging policy, but have advanced respect for the dignity, humanity, and contributions of transgender people in the military and beyond.
Our fight to end this ban has always been about fairness, equal opportunity, and service. President Biden’s order today honors those shared values and ensures that transgender servicemembers and aspiring recruits can again be assessed not on who they are, but on their ability to do the job.
Your support made this historic moment possible. With your continued support we will undo all of the profound harms done to our community and our country over the past four years and advance our collective dream of equality and justice for all.
Jan. 25, 2021 (WASHINGTON) — Today, President Biden issued an executive order lifting the ban on transgender military service. Since the outgoing administration began to enforce the ban in April 2019, dedicated transgender service members have been threatened with discharge, and qualified transgender Americans have been barred from enlisting, participating in ROTC, or attending military academies.
From its announcement, the ban was criticized by military leaders and experts and faced broad bipartisan opposition from the public. Multiple federal courts issued rulings against it, which kept the ban from going into effect for nearly two years after President Trump first ordered it in July 2017. GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed the first legal challenge, Doe v. Trump, in August 2017, and joined Equality California in filing a second lawsuit, Stockman v. Trump, the following month. GLAD and NCLR anticipate a swift resolution of all pending lawsuits opposing the ban with the issuance of today’s order.
Nicolas Talbott
“It is my highest goal to serve my country in the U.S. military and I’ve fought this ban because I know that I am qualified to serve,” said Nicolas Talbott, an aspiring service member who is a plaintiff in Stockman v. Trump. “I’m thrilled and relieved that I and other transgender Americans can now be evaluated solely on our ability to meet military standards. I look forward to becoming the best service member I can be.”
“Our fight to end the transgender military ban was about equal opportunity, fairness and service, and President Biden’s order today honors those shared national values,” said Jennifer Levi, Director of Transgender Rights Project at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. “Transgender Americans can and will bring needed skills to our armed forces at every level, and I look forward to seeing our nation benefit from the contributions of a new generation of transgender leaders and patriots.”
“President Biden’s order allows us to put this shameful episode behind us and marks the beginning of a much brighter era in which military service is once again based on a person’s qualifications, not on who they are,” said Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “Transgender people have proved their fitness to serve and ask nothing more than the opportunity to do so based on the same standards that apply to others. This is a great day for our nation and a welcome relief from the negative and divisive policies of the past four years.”
“With the stroke of a pen, President Biden has simultaneously put an end to an unpatriotic, discriminatory policy and given hope to thousands of qualified transgender servicemembers and their families,” said Rick Chavez Zbur, Executive Director of Equality California. “Today is the result of countless transgender patriots — like Nic Talbott and so many others — speaking up to defend their livelihoods and their country. Equality California has always stood with our transgender troops, but we are especially proud to do so today.”
No one should be fired for speaking out against racial harassment, and employers cannot misuse religion to harm workers and justify discrimination.
GLAD signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the 10th Circuit Court by National Women’s Law Center in support of Gregory Tucker, an employee at Faith Christian Academy (FCA) who was fired after speaking out against race discrimination. FCA is attempting to strip Mr. Tucker of his civil rights protections using the “ministerial exception,” a doctrine designed to let houses of worship hire their own faith leaders. The arguments made by FCA are yet another dangerous example of employers seeking to use religion as a means by which they can deny employees workplace protections. More background on the case is available here.
GLAD Heralds Biden Administration’s First Day Orders on Equity and Civil Rights
On his first day in office, President Biden issued a series of Executive Orders demonstrating the administration’s strong commitment to equity and civil rights. These measures include steps to reverse some of the most harmful policies of the last administration. They include reversal of the Muslim travel ban as well as measures to support DREAMers and to advance racial justice across federal government agencies and actions. In addition, President Biden issued a directive instructing federal agencies to prohibit LGBTQ workplace discrimination and to take all lawful measures to ensure that federal anti-discrimination statutes that cover sex discrimination apply in equal force to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“President Biden has shown it is a new day in our country when it comes to civil rights protections,” said Janson Wu, GLAD Executive Director. “The President’s initial orders in support of racial justice, his executive order on ‘Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation’ as well as the explicit inclusion of LGBTQ people in a separate order launching a federal government equity initiative, will advance the cause of fairness across our communities. While our country’s laws still leave too many LGBTQ people and others unprotected in critical areas like access to public places and vital federally-funded social services, this order is an important step on the path toward justice. We look forward to working with the Administration, with Congress, and in our courts and state legislatures to ensure that all Americans are equally protected under the law.”
The President’s Order “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation” instructs federal agencies to follow the June, 2020 Supreme Court Bostock ruling that the prohibition against discrimination because of sex in federal statute includes protections for LGBTQ people. While Bostock involved Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, barring workplace discrimination, this order directs federal agencies to interpret any sex discrimination prohibitions to protect LGBTQ individuals. This has far reaching implications for areas including healthcare, housing, and education — all areas in which Trump policy had targeted LGBTQ people for the denial of rights.
On the occasion of today’s historic inauguration, I went back to read these words that I wrote to the GLAD community after the 2016 election:
“The full, devastating impact of yesterday’s election is yet to be known, but I woke up this morning knowing that, first, we must take care of each other.”
Four years later, we have seen the impact of that election, and it has been devastating. It has wreaked havoc on our country’s people and communities, health, economy, wellbeing, and democratic institutions. And it has landed most heavily on the most vulnerable and marginalized.
But today is also an opportunity to reflect on the full extent to which we came together over the last four years to take care of each other.
GLAD supporters have been a critical part of that community of care.
Despite unprecedented attacks from the outgoing federal administration and opponents of equality, together we have:
Protected more LGBTQ people than ever before from discrimination. From passing transgender nondiscrimination protections in New Hampshire – the last state in New England to lack inclusive LGBTQ protections, to roundly defeating efforts to repeal Massachusetts’ transgender public accommodation discrimination protections at the ballot box, to the historic U.S. Supreme Court victory this past June affirming LGBTQ employment discrimination protections nationwide – we have made enormous progress towards ensuring all LGBTQ people can live, work, and thrive free from discrimination.
Nicolas Talbott
Defeated, diminished, and delayed efforts by the Trump administration to roll back our rights. We led the charge against the transgender military ban, preventing it from going into effect for two years and securing multiple federal court rulings in support of equal protection. The stories of transgender servicemembers and aspiring servicemembers, like our plaintiff Nic Talbott, grew increased respect for the contributions of transgender Americans in the military and beyond. We challenged Trump administration efforts to reverse healthcare protections for our community and continue to expand access to care for transgender youth and adults. And we have equipped our community with tools to protect against potential devastating harms, such as providing information about rights in accessing shelters and other vital services.
Made New England a conversion therapy free zone. All six New England states have passed laws prohibiting the use of conversion therapy on young people, a widely discredited practice that has been condemned by every major medical and psychological professional organization.
Rhode Islanders for Parentage Equality celebrating outside the State House
Ensured that more LGBTQ families are recognized and protected. We have guarded against every attempt to roll back our historic marriage equality victory, and worked to ensure LGBTQ families can have their parent-child relationships recognized and protected, regardless of whether the parents are married to each other or genetically related to their children.
Improved quality of life for our longest survivors of the AIDS epidemic and increased access to game-changing medication that will help end the epidemic. We passed first-of-its kind legislation in Massachusetts requiring insurance coverage for treatment of lipodystrophy, a highly disfiguring and debilitating condition that results from long-term HIV treatments. Through litigation and public education, we instigated industry-wide reform that stopped life, disability, and long-term care insurance discrimination against individuals who take pre-exposure prophylactic medication (PrEP) to prevent the transmission of HIV.
Deepened our commitment to racial justice, including in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. We won landmark rights for transgender incarcerated people to be housed according to their gender identity in Massachusetts and Connecticut. We secured the release of two LGBTQ youth who were being harassed and physically attacked in a Maine youth prison. And through policy change and individual advocacy, we are working to make it easier for trans youth in the juvenile justice system to receive lifesaving transition-related health care.
While these are just a few of our many victories, none of them would have happened without your support.
We have both endured and accomplished so much together over the past four years. And even as we remain rightly worried and vigilant about ongoing attacks on our multiracial democracy and our democratic values, today we can also celebrate our victories – both big and small – and look forward to a better future.
I ended my message after the 2016 elections with this promise: “GLAD is not going anywhere. We are here, and we will continue fighting like hell for all of us.”
That remains truer today than ever before. We have miles to go before we reach our destination of true, lasting justice for all. But I promise that with you by our side, GLAD will be fighting like hell every step of the way.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Executive Director Janson Wu issued the following statement in response to yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol:
Yesterday we all watched in horror at what happened in D.C. That a mob of white vigilantes was able to violently invade our Capitol, displaying Confederate flags and other symbols of white supremacy, is outrageous, terrifying, and unacceptable.
The highest ideals of our democratic republic are in immediate peril. Today GLAD is calling for the removal of the President through the procedures set forth in the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution or through impeachment.
What we witnessed yesterday is the culmination of four years of white supremacist attacks on our country spurred on by a president and his enablers who have stoked racist anger and spread lie after lie. After months of conspiracy theories, and relentless efforts to undermine legitimate election results, President Trump exhorted this mob to insurrection. He resisted marshalling the forces to quell this assault and has expressed his appreciation for its perpetrators.
It is vital that we ensure that the ideals of our democracy, including the peaceful transition of power from one President to the next, are carried out in the next fourteen days. The President of the United States is sworn to defend the Constitution and the rule of law. Because President Trump has demonstrated that he is unable to discharge his essential and fundamental duty, he must be relieved of his powers.
Yesterday also highlighted staggering differences in the response of law enforcement. It was shocking to see the confederate flag inside the Capitol, to see images of police taking selfies with white vigilantes and escorting others out with no immediate consequence, when we’ve witnessed over and over police target, detain and even kill innocent Black people, including those protesting for equal justice. We cannot turn away from the urgent need for bold action. We must work to root out white supremacy in policing and in all our structures and institutions, and make this country a true democracy for all of us.
Why GLAD is joining calls for President Trump’s removal
Like you, I watched in horror at what happened yesterday in D.C. That a mob of white vigilantes was able to violently invade our Capitol, displaying Confederate flags and other symbols of white supremacy, is outrageous and terrifying. I hope that you and your loved ones are safe, and able to take care of yourselves and each other today.
The highest ideals of our democratic republic are in immediate peril. That is why today, GLAD joins in the call for the removal of the President, whether through the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment or impeachment.
What we witnessed yesterday is the culmination of four years of white supremacist attacks on our country spurred on by a president and his enablers who have stoked racist anger and spread lie after lie. After months of conspiracy theories and relentless efforts to undermine legitimate election results, President Trump exhorted this mob to insurrection. He resisted marshalling the forces to quell this assault and has expressed his appreciation for its perpetrators.
It is vital that we ensure that the ideals of our democracy, including the peaceful transition of power from one President to the next, are carried out in the next fourteen days. Because President Trump has demonstrated that he is unable to discharge this essential and fundamental duty, he must be relieved of his powers.
Yesterday also highlighted staggering differences in the response of law enforcement. It was shocking to see images of police taking selfies with white vigilantes and escorting others out with no immediate consequence, when we’ve witnessed over and over police target, detain, and even kill innocent Black people, including those protesting for equal justice. We cannot turn away from the urgent need for bold action. We must work to root out white supremacy in policing and in all our structures and institutions, and make this country a true democracy for all of us.
The horror of yesterday overshadowed something that gives me tremendous hope for that work ahead. At the end of a very long day, and despite craven, false objections from some members even in light of the attack on the Capitol, Congress took the final Constitutional step in certifying the presidential election. Americans voted by overwhelming margins for a new President in Joe Biden and a history-making Vice President in Kamala Harris, and that transition will take place on January 20. An overwhelming number of Americans have been engaged in our democratic process this year, including most recently in Georgia which yesterday also confirmed the election of the first Black Senator and the first Jewish Senator from that state.
Democracy will prevail and together, with determination and compassion, we will steer our country back toward advancing the work of justice, equity, and equality.
Statement from Janson Wu, GLAD Executive Director on the Events at the Capitol
Like you, we at GLAD are watching in horror at what is happening in D.C. today. We are hoping first and foremost for everyone’s safety. This outrageous and terrifying display is the culmination of the last four years of white supremacist attacks on our democracy. Any elected leader who refuses to condemn the actions of this mob and the words of a President who continues to spread lies about a free and fair election, is promoting the demise of our democracy. Any member of Congress who acts in support of conspiracy theories that the election was stolen is doing the same. Democracy must and will prevail.
The legal needs of children and their families are straightforward: our relationships must be recognized and protected, and youth in state custody must have the resources to thrive and have their identities affirmed. GLAD continues with its mission to update parentage laws and address the inequities so rife within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. These systems most heavily impact marginalized communities: Black, Latinx, and Indigenous youth, and their families. And as the nation continues to navigate the global pandemic of COVID-19, GLAD has been working to support vulnerable families and marginalized youth most affected by this ongoing crisis.
Protecting Children and Families with Updated Parentage Laws
Rhode Islanders for Parentage Equality members at the Rhode Island Capitol
The support and stability that comes from a legally secure parent-child relationship provides the foundation of a child’s well-being. In many states, not every child has equal access to establishing this core legal relationship due to outdated laws which leave children vulnerable. GLAD is working to update parentage laws across New England so that they are constitutional and protect all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth or the marital status or gender of their parents. Among other important protections, legislation based on the Uniform Parentage Act of 2017 provides clarity on how to establish parentage for children born through assisted reproduction, surrogacy, and to unmarried same-gender parents. As the law stands now in many states, not all children have ready access to the security of legal parentage, with some having to wait six months or longer to establish their parent-child relationship.
This vulnerability was highlighted recently in the case Adoption of Daphne, where a couple formed their family with the support of a person acting as a gestational carrier. Because of Massachusetts’ outdated parentage statutes, there was no mechanism to clarify the legal parentage of the child at birth, so the gestational carrier was the legal parent, and the child’s parentage could only be clarified by adoption. The Massachusetts trial court twice dismissed the adoption, and the child was left in a legal parentage limbo for almost two years. GLAD submitted an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in support of the intended parents and in April 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed that Massachusetts had jurisdiction over the adoption and again urged the Legislature to act and update outdated statutes. Adoption of Daphne illustrates one of many gaps addressed by the Massachusetts Parentage Act, now pending in the Massachusetts legislature.
The need for parentage reform is an urgent priority, and we secured more than one important victory in New England this summer with the final passage of the Rhode Island Parentage Act and legislation expanding access to adoption in New Hampshire which streamlines the adoption process for children of LGBTQ parents and ensures that children born through assisted reproduction can access a court decree of parentage. “Children born to unmarried and LGBTQ parents, and children born through assisted reproduction, all need and deserve to have their parentage protected and respected in every jurisdiction,” said GLAD Staff Attorney Chris Erchull when the New Hampshire bill was signed into law. The critical legislation that passed in these states builds momentum so that more advances will follow, allowing all families to be protected by the law.
Advances in parentage protections are so important for our families and communities, and they can take years to build momentum into a victory. But as we did in Maine in 2015, Vermont in 2018, and Rhode Island and New Hampshire in 2020, we will keep working to pass these protections in Connecticut and Massachusetts in the next legislative session. If you have directly experienced the vulnerabilities of outdated parentage laws, you can help be a part of the work to protect children and families across New England. Click here to share your family’s story.
Partnering with Communities to Build Restorative Justice Practices and Incarceration Alternatives
GLAD and Citizens for Juvenile Justice staff at the 2020 Youth Justice Briefing at the Massachusetts State House.
In order to create better community supports for young people and alternatives to incarceration, GLAD is actively advocating for reforms in Maine’s juvenile justice system. Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonauto has been working with young people and adult allies to divert young people from the formal juvenile justice system before they are incarcerated, and to move them into restorative justice settings where they can keep their connection with family and community. With Rep. Victoria Morales, GLAD is supporting a bill to eliminate incarceration for some young people, reduce length of sentences, and provide periodic judicial reviews with counsel for those who are incarcerated. This work began in concert with other youth advocates, with direct representation of incarcerated young people, and gained further momentum with a March 2020 Report of the Maine Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Task Force, a body on which GLAD Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonauto served.
The need for better community support is critical to creating spaces for marginalized youth to feel belonging and to plan for their future. The inequities of our society are shown clearly in who ends up in the juvenile justice system: youth facilities are disproportionately made up of youth of color and LGBTQ youth, as well as young people who are lower income or have disabilities.
This work cannot succeed without also addressing schools – the place where young people spend a significant part of their waking hours. The “school-to-prison-pipeline” refers to the proven connection between incarceration and previous school suspensions, disproportionate discipline of LGBTQ students and students of color, and over-policing in schools. One recent development in this area followed a months-long examination of the role of police in the Portland public high schools and public hearings in which GLAD participated. The School Board decided to transfer the funds used for school police officers to prevention, training, and restorative justice work in the schools and among staff, and to return to a system where police already on patrol can respond immediately for emergencies.
In Massachusetts, GLAD has been working on similar issues to reduce pipelines to incarceration as a part of the Juvenile Justice Coalition led by Citizens for Juvenile Justice. Legislative efforts in Massachusetts include bills to raise the maximum age for incarceration in the juvenile system to avoid deeper system involvement in the adult corrections system, to collect comprehensive demographic data on youth involved in the juvenile justice system, and to decriminalize consensual sexual activity between youth who are close in age. We will continue to advocate for legislative advances in the next session beginning in January 2021.
GLAD will continue to fight for LGBTQ youth and families and do all we can to ensure they are safe and supported in all areas of their lives.
Recent Supreme Court decisions have raised urgent questions for LGBTQ+ people and people with HIV. Our legal infoline, GLAD Law Answers, can help. Reach out today.
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