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WASHINGTON DC, January 2, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – As of January 1, individuals who claim to be “transgender” are now allowed to enlist with all branches of the United States military.
The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted through the courts to delay the Obama administration’s June 2016 policy change opening the door to transgender individuals to serve openly in the military.
By late December, after a final attempt to delay was thwarted by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the Pentagon announced it would comply with the Obama-era directives. The White House further announced that it would not ask the United States Supreme Court to stay the federal district court’s decision.
“We’ll obey whatever the law says,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Pentagon reporters in a year end press conference. “It’s a court case right now.”
According to a report on Military.com, Mattis sidestepped questions about whether he personally backed the enlisting of transgender recruits.
“I don’t get into singling out and welcoming this group or that group, or that gender or anything else. That’s not my role,” he said.
Last summer, President Trump tweeted, “After consultation with my Generals and
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