Ellen did something amazing for trans military couple who might lose their jobs
Ellen DeGeneres had an amazing surprise for a transgender military couple who may lose their jobs under Trump’s transgender ban.
Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis is pushing ahead with the administration’s plans to ban transgender people from the military.
In the face of multiple civil rights lawsuits, Trump officials are drawing up plans to block recruitment of any military personnel who identify as transgender, while they are working on plans to ‘purge’ existing soldiers from next year.
Married couple Logan and Laila Ireland, both of whom are transgender and served in the military, are one of the families that worry their lives could be impacted by the ban.
Laila Ireland served in the Army for 12 years, while Logan is an active-duty Staff Sergeant with the Air Force.
Speaking on The Ellen Show about serving in the military, Logan said: “When I got back from my deployment in Afghanistan in 2015, I’d served as male for the entire time I was in Afghanistan, without fault or failure.
“When I got back to my home station, my leadership saw that I was male and wanted to do unto me the best possible thing, so they let me go by male regs and standards.
“I was allowed to wear male dress [uniform] and grow out this horrible moustache, and live more authentically day in and day out.
“By my leadership doing that, it resonated throughout the entire military, and spearheaded what we now know as the policy.”
The couple explained to Ellen that they had been planning to adopt a child – but have put their plans on hold after Trump’s announcement.
She said: “I know you want to adopt a child but that’s been put on hold, because depending on what this decision is from the President, you may be out of a job and you were worried about money.
“It’s a really tough thing to decide to adopt a child right now.
“Shutterfly loves helping people tell their inspiring stories, and they want to give you a cheque for $25,000 to help you.”
She presented the couple with the cheque – to give them some financial stability.
Republican Senator and war hero John McCain recently backed a new effort to block Donald Trump’s transgender ban.
As supporters of LGBT rights in Congress rush to try to protect trans rights, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain has backed the plan.
McCain, who was famously held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was joined by Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand and Jack Reed and Republican colleague Senator Susan Collins in launching the new bill.
The bill would block the Department of Defence from involuntarily separating, or denying the reenlistment or continuation in service in the Armed Forces of currently serving transgender service members solely on the basis of the member’s gender identity.
It would also “require Secretary Mattis to complete his review of accession of transgender individuals into the Armed Forces by the end of this year and report the results to Congress”.
