US president, Joe Biden, has signed an executive order lifting regulations created under the Trump administration which barred trans people from joining the country’s military. Donald Trump enforced the ban in 2017, with Biden promising to lift it as soon as possible. The White House released an official statement on the order: “President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity.”
Biden’s decision has been backed by newly appointed defence secretary, General Lloyd Austin, who said: “I support the plan to overturn the ban…I truly believe that if you’re fit and you’re qualified to serve and you can maintain the standards, you should be allowed to serve.” LGBTQ+ organisation, Stonewall, praised the new regulations, tweeting: “President Biden has done the right thing to quickly overturn the Trump administration’s bigoted ban on trans people serving in the military. Now trans people will be able to live & serve openly as themselves.” GLAAD also tweeted: “They [the US military] know that brave trans patriots have served throughout history and continue to serve honorably and capably, defending our country.”
Since coming into power last week, Biden has also restored bathroom protections for trans students, which were enforced during Obama’s presidency but then scrapped by Trump. This will ensure trans students can access bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity. In addition, Biden signed an order protecting LGBTQ+ people from employment discrimination, which the president of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, dubbed “the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president.”.
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