NAACP STATEMENT ON TRUMP TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN

Press Release - NAACP
Aug 25, 2017
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AUGUST 26, 2017

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NAACP vows to stand with the transgender community, and will fight any efforts to codify discrimination into law

BALTIMORE (August 25, 2017)– The NAACP, the country’s largest social justice organization today responded to President Trump’s plans to bar transgender applicants from joining the military:

“Defending our nation’s freedoms on the front lines is one of the highest callings imaginable. The mere idea that President Trump will seek to deny any American the ability to fulfill that calling – simply because of their gender identity – is not only despicable, but also a deeply ironic violation of those very freedoms our military seeks to protect,” said Derrick Johnson, Interim President & CEO, NAACP.

“In a week in which the president has continued to bless the violence of white supremacist groups and pardoned the disgraced, bigoted former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, this is yet another example of Trump actively and purposefully targeting marginalized communities,” Johnson continued.

“The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure the political, social and economic equality of all people – and President Trump’s directive to the military is in complete opposition to that mission. We pledge today to stand with our transgender brothers and sisters as we continue to fight any efforts to codify discrimination into law.”