We, the faculty, students, and staff members of the Interdisciplinary Program in LGBTQ Studies at UCLA, unequivocally condemn the discriminatory partisan action of the Supreme Court of the United States in failing to enjoin the current administration’s ban of transgender people from the military pending full consideration of the policy by the Court.
The exclusion of transgender, genderqueer, or non-binary people from any aspect of public life is unjust and dangerous for those being targeted by this legislation.
This unnecessary and harmful policy, endorsed by members of the Supreme Court but unsupported by the head of any branch of the armed forces, impedes the military’s ability to recruit the best personnel for its needs, and it inflicts gratuitous harm on the over 15,000 transgender Americans currently serving in the military.
The assumption that transgender people are suffering from a mental illness and are, therefore, not equipped to withstand the rigors of military combat is “fruit of the poisonous tree” logic.
Regardless of our various disagreements about the role of the US military in the world, we declare these actions categorically preventing trans people from serving to be exclusionary, bigoted in the extreme, and contrary to social justice.
We stand with our trans, genderqueer, and non-binary family, friends, and community members both within and outside the military.
We are committed to insuring the safety and respect of all LGBTQIA people at UCLA and in the larger community. We wholeheartedly condemn every attempt to isolate, silence, or pathologize gender identity and diversity in any setting, and we celebrate the contributions of LGBTQIA people in all their manifestations.
Disclaimer: The University of California was not involved in the drafting of this resolution; nor does it endorse or oppose these views.