By now, the list of Trump's broken promises has grown considerably. It's hard to keep track of what promises Trump made and which ones he broke. But when he was running for President, Trump promised to support the LBGTQ community. As he moved his alignments, he became actively hostile to them. (That list keeps growing as well.)
Today the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban against transgender individuals serving in the military, at least for now and pending appeals in the lower courts. Todd Weiler, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, with 30 years of military service under his belt, was involved in implementing the original policy permitting transgender service, which also removed restrictions on transgender cildren attending Department of Defense schools. He spoke out:
“The military struggles to make recruitment numbers and unfortunately we continue to see the same families and communities bearing the brunt of Service to Nation. To artificially restrict service to those that look or act a certain way, is to make our country less safe and our military less ready. We know this from history, when women, African-Americans, gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, and many others were denied the opportunity to serve. It only resulted in a military that was less reflective of American society. When we restrict service and do not encourage and outreach to EVERY community and individual that can meet the rigorous standards, we distance our military from the communities of America. When that happens, citizens become less concerned about the use of military forces, because it doesn't directly affect their family. That is not a statement of opinion...it is a statement of fact and history. Our military must be a mirror of the Nation it serves...the whole Nation.”
Trump has often spoken of protecting this country, especially as he continues to fight for his border wall. Are we in a position to reject some of our most dedicated warriors when the nation's safety is a priority?