Timeline: A history of LGBTQ hurdles in military service
WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) - President Donald Trump announced he will reinstate the ban on transgender service in the military.
During the White House daily press briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president felt the ban was the best decision for the military.
Sanders added the president made the change in policy on the recommendation of military advisors who felt the presence of transgenders in the military “erodes military cohesion” and readiness.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump tweeted that he would represent the LGBT community better than Secretary Hillary Clinton.
When asked if the president still stands by his statement, Sanders said, “the president has a lot of support for all Americans and wants to protect all Americans at all times.”
The White House and the Department of Defense will work together on the implementation of this policy.
A history of transgender service in the Armed Forces
June 20, 1992- General Accounting Office releases report the cost of banning gays and lesbians in the military, according to The New York Times. It is believed to cost $27 million annually.
July 19, 1993 - President Clinton announces the "don't ask, don't tell" policy." The bill allows LGBT members of the military to serve so long as they don't tell anyone about their sexual orientation and ends efforts to effectively root them out of the military, according to The New York Times.
November 30, 1993 - President Bill Clinton signs into law "Don't ask, don't tell."
February 28, 1994 - "Don't ask, don't tell" goes into effect.
December 22, 2011 - President Obama signs legislation repealing"Don't ask, don't tell," according to The New York Times.
July 6, 2011 - 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals orders the end of enforcing "don't ask, don't tell."
July 22, 2011 - President Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent a certification to Congress that the military was ready for the ending of the ban, according to NBC News.
September 20, 2011 - "Don't ask, don't tell" policy effectively ends, according to NBC News.
May 11, 2014 - In an interview with ABC's "This Week" Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the military should regularly review the military's ban on transgendered people.
March 6, 2015 - The assistant secretary of the Army became responsible for approving the discharge of any soldier for being transgender. Before the change, commanders in the field was allowed to initiate and finalize discharges for transgender soldiers.
April 9, 2015 - Transgender soldier comes out in WaPo profile. Sgt. Shane Ortega has served in two combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He served two of them as a woman and one as a man. When his testosterone levels went up due to hormones, he was barred from flight duties. Ortega came out as transgender in the profile in hopes of influencing policy.
June 4, 2015 - Transgender soldier profiled by NYT. Airman Logan Ireland is profiled in an op-ed video documenting his life serving in the military as a man despite being born as a woman. His fiance, born a man but now a woman, also lives the same exact life.
June 5, 2015 - Air Force changes in policy for transgender soldiers. The commander can sign off on the discharge of transgender soldiers went up and discharges for those with gender dysphoria can only go through if the commander believes it interferes with their military duties.
June 8, 2015 - First out transgender Army officer. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Jamie Lee Henry became the first Army officer to come out openly transgender. She is a doctor and major in the Army's Medical Corps. The Army granted her request to officially change her name and gender.
June 24, 2015 - Logan Ireland, an open transgender soldier who was granted permission to wear a men's uniform, was invited to the White House's LGBT pride reception and was personally invited by President Obama. The policy at the time still stated that transgender soldiers are required to be discharged.
July 13, 2015 - Pentagon begins the process of allowing transgender people in the military. Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated that the "outdated" regulation would end by early next year. The next few months would be spent maneuvering the "administrative and legal changes," according to The New York Times.
October 3, 2015 - Vice President Joe Biden delivers a speech to the Human Rights Campaign. "When I said, and I wasn't making a profound statement, I said transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. It took the sector of defense 10 minutes in July 2015 – to say transgender people are able to serve. Ash Carter is a decent man and said all Americans who are qualified to serve physically should be able to serve," Biden said.
May 16, 2016 - Carter and the RAND Corporation commissioned a study and discovered that the cost of allowing transgender soldiers in the military is "very little with no significant impact on unit readiness."
June 14, 2016 - Trump tweets that he will fight for the LGBT community.
June 30, 2016 - Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the announcement from the Pentagon ending one of the last remaining service bans for the U.S. military.
October 1, 2016 - Transgender service members can receive medicals can and formally change gender identity within the military's personnel system.
May 26, 2017 - The New York Times reports on two transgender students at West Point and another at the Air Force Academy are denied commissions due to a DOD policy loophole. The report says that the policy that went into effect in Oct 2016 only applies to active duty military and not cadets or new recruits.
June 30, 2017- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gives military officials six months to conduct a review to decide if transgender people serving in the military affect the "readiness or lethality" of the force.
July 26, 2017 - President Donald Trump bans transgender people from serving in the military.
