Veterans Group Urges States To Pass Protective Policies In Response To Trump Trans Bans

Trans veterans are being let go without a safety net. Here’s what your state can do about it.

2017.07.29 Stop Transgender Military Ban, Washington, DC - Wikimedia Commons

Roughly 3,500 newly discharged transgender service members have been forced out of their jobs and stripped of health and housing benefits by the federal government. Now, a coalition of veterans’ groups are waging a campaign to demand that states step in to provide a safety net.

“Most veterans have about a year to plan a transition from active duty to being a veteran, and they get the benefit of a whole constellation of different programs,” Luke Schleusener, CEO of Out in National Security (ONS), told Erin in the Morning. “None of these people are getting that because of the way the executive order is being written and implemented by the Trump Administration.”

ONS, along with the Modern Military Association of America, Service Women’s Action Network, Minority Veterans of America, and SPARTA, have created the Transgender Veterans Toolkit, providing trans service members, veterans, and their allies and loved ones with a roadmap for more local action.

The Department of Defense is “the nation’s largest employer,” according to a now-archived report from the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget. It’s not clear how many current and former service members are trans, but in 2014, the Williams Institute estimated the number was just under 135,000 people. At the same time, these numbers are hard to come by—and getting harder as the federal government takes steps to erase trans people from demographic data.

Michael Haley, a staff attorney with GLAD Law, said the withdrawal of benefits was part of “the general cruelty in attacking transgender people.”

The toolkit from the ONS-led coalition offers model proposals for state governments and agencies to enact without needing permission from the White House. “These recommendations are non-legislative, cost-effective, and executable within 90 days using existing state authority,” the toolkit says. Schleusener added that individuals can call their governor or their state equality office to voice support for the provisions.

Sample policies include a 2024 Maryland Medicaid Bridge Pilot program that reduced coverage lapses for recently separated veterans, a Massachusetts initiative that reserved state-funded supportive housing units for LGBTQIA+ veterans, and a 2022 Utah policy that streamlines the transfer of veterans’ out-of-state work credentials.

However, advocates also emphasized that trans veterans and service members are in for the long haul. Even if a more sympathetic figure won the presidency, some policies—such as the proposed ban on trans women competing on women’s military sports teams—are passed through Congress. This enshrines the anti-trans animus into law, a more permanent fixture than an executive order.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, a group of 17 Air Force members impacted by the anti-trans military ban sued the Trump Administration for rescinding their pensions after they were forced to retire early.

“Ripping away the retirements we have earned is a betrayal of the sacrifices made by servicemembers and our families,” said lead plaintiff Master Sergeant Logan Ireland in a press release. “We should not be thrown into economic hardship or made to feel our years of service are regarded by our country as meaningless.”