Trans People & the Military

May 6, 2025

Today SCOTUS once again gave the go ahead to the Trump Administration to ban trans people from serving in the U.S. military. We've spoken on trans people & the military a number of times, most recently in 2017 & 2019. Here's what we had to say then, which holds true today. (Lightly edited to reflect our June 2019 organizational name change.)

January 24, 2019

Here at Out in the Open, we've been discussing the new news this week regarding the ban on trans folks serving in the military and pulling together our thoughts.

It should go without saying that trans folks should be able to pursue any job and participate in any institution we choose. That should not be up for debate. This Supreme Court (non)decision to let this type of discrimination slide and toss it back to lower courts is not OK. Our support for trans folks in all parts of our lives and in all places in the world is unwavering.

AND regardless of if trans people are openly serving in the ranks of the U.S. military or not, it remains one of the most violent institutions on the planet. Yes, this action by the federal administration this week directly harms trans people. And yet, we are also left asking ourselves, where are we as a movement of LGBTQ people when we prioritize promoting militarization within our movement and and pushing for our people (or any people) to increase their participation in this system? We believe that our work as humans in the world and as LGBTQ people striving for justice is to work toward the collective liberation of all people. When our movement is pulled toward putting our energy and resources into upholding and legitimizing this system and all the harm it creates, that is counter to our goal of freeing us all from oppression.

Much of the public debate we've seen around this issue in the past few days (and months) has centered on the US military being the largest public employer of trans folks in the country. And thusly, trans people being excluded from federal employment in this case being a problem. We agree that trans people being barred from any type of employment is a dangerous road to begin walking. This framing of the conversation as well as the present tide of the Supreme Court signals that unconstitutional employment discrimination at the federal level in decisions like these will continue to be the norm we experience and also centered by many in these conversations. We hope our community and movement is able to engage with a broader discussion of this issue and maintain a critique of expanding militarism and imperialism even while trans people are experiencing very real harm at the hands of this decision.

We as an organization and as trans people stand in solidarity with veterans and those folks who are serving on active duty in the U.S. military of all genders who are frequently people of color, queer, trans, folks from rural areas and small towns, and working class/poor folks among others. We believe that all of our needs as humans should be able to be met without needing to join the military including access to mental and physical healthcare, employment, access to affordable education, housing, a job, a way out of an unsafe hometown or living situation, etc. And we also know that even through joining the military, veterans' needs often still largely go unmet.

We know that as a movement and as a community we can hold the complexity of all of these things at the same time.

Onward towards liberation and justice for all people in all places.

July 26, 2017

Regarding today's government statement on trans people in the military:

We reject transphobia in all forms. At the same time, we reject U.S. imperialism and militarism and using queer and trans people as tools in that globally oppressive wave. We reject the notion that any state can erase trans people by attempting to push us out of VA care, other needed (and earned) benefits, or by using nationalism and manufactured fear in an attempt to create further divisions within our communities.

We know that trans people are vastly more likely to be living on under $10,000 a year, often without the support of our families of origin and that under those conditions, military service often is an attractive path (or the only path). We support those trans individuals who are currently in the military (including an estimated 15,500 people who are currently serving according to the Williams Institute) and those who are veterans. Make no mistake, today's announcement by the current administration is part of a broader systematic attempt to wipe trans people out. It will not work. We have always been here; we will always be here. Stay strong and hold on to each other today and every day.