Coast Guard Admiral defies Trump, personally speaks to all trans coast guards
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 05: U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft announces the resolution of federal and state claims against BP for the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill at the Robert F. Kennedy building October 5, 2015 in Washington, DC. The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion killed 11 workers and spilled nearly 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. According to settlements with the government, BP will pay about $20 billion in fines and penalties, natural restoration work, economic and other claims over an 18-year period. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Admiral of the US Coast Guard has defied President Trump’s orders to ban trans people from the military.
Admiral Paul Zukunft spoke to Military.com to say that he would not honour the ban on trans troops serving openly.
He said he reached out to the 13 out trans members of the Coast Guard.
“I reached out personally to Lt. Taylor Miller, who was featured on the cover of The Washington Post last week,” Zukunft said.
“If you read that story, Taylor’s family has disowned her. Her family is the United States Coast Guard. And I told Taylor, ‘I will not turn my back. We have made an investment in you, and you have made an investment in the Coast Guard, and I will not break faith.’”
The Coast Guard is the only part of the US Military which falls under Homeland Security.
This is because it primarily works within the US.
Despite the assertion that it would cost the military too much to implement a transgender-inclusive policy, the Department of Defense spent five times more on Viagra in 2014 than it would on care for transgender troops.
Out trans former Navy SEAL Kristin Beck challenged President Trump to tell her to her face that she is “not worthy” after he announced the policy.
She also noted the negligible cost of providing the healthcare to trans troops compared to other military costs.
According to reports, the Pentagon was unaware that Trump was about to announce the rolling back of the Obama-era change.
It is not the first time Trump has gone out of his way to reverse a decision on LGBT rights made by Obama.
The GOP leader has already scrapped protections for transgender school kids, ceased government opposition to state-level anti-LGBT laws, and sought to slash HIV aid funding.
The decisions sour Trump’s previous claims during his election campaign to be a “friend” of LGBT people.
In a speech directly after the Orlando massacre he had claimed: “Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the L-G-B-T community, Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words.”
He also won endless praise from gay Republicans for waving a Pride flag on stage, while making no pledges on LGBT rights.
