San Francisco: A few hundred demonstrators gathered Wednesday in New York City, Washington D.C. and San Francisco to protest of President Donald Trump’s abrupt ban on transgender service members in the military.
The protest came after President Trump announced on Twitter that transgender people may not serve “in any capacity” in the US military, citing the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” their presence would cause.
An estimated 2,500 to 7,000 transgender people are among the 1.3 million active duty service members.
“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military,” Trump tweeted.
“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.”
The issue of transgender rights in America has been increasingly in the spotlight in recent months, especially over how states regulate the use of public restrooms.
Several hundred demonstrators gathered waved pink and blue flags, held signs reading “Trans lives are not a burden” and chanted “Stand up! Fight back!”
LIVE: Protesters gather in Times Square to rally against the ban on transgender people in the military. https://t.co/3AM6xwvDsy pic.twitter.com/ZIRs6zbuBX
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) July 26, 2017
Protesters chant "no hate, no fear…trump's values aren't welcome here." #transmilitaryban pic.twitter.com/83urhutBOo
— Anna-Lysa Gayle (@AnnaLysaGayle) July 26, 2017
Kim Kardashian too expressed her disappointment over the ban and termed it “simply wrong”.
Tweeting on the same to her 54.4 million followers, the ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star said, “Banning transgender people from serving our country is simply wrong. We should be so grateful to anybody who wants to serve! ”
Transgender rights in America have increasingly been in the spotlight in recent months, especially over how states regulate the use of public restrooms.
The Trump administration has faced protests after it reversed Obama-era federal protections urging schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity, not the gender on their birth certificate.
With agencies input