President Joe Biden has lifted the ban on transgender military members, putting an end to the order signed by former President Donald Trump.
Biden signed the executive order on Monday. The Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department will now be required to remove gender identity as a bar to service, according to Military Times.
The ban came about after Trump tweeted in July 2017 that he would no longer permit transgender citizens to enroll in the U.S. military, though it took nearly two years to enact the policy. Trump’s ban of transgender soldiers was a direct reversal of then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s lift on the Defense Department’s long-standing transgender service members prohibition.
Biden’s order immediately puts an end to separations or denials of service members based on their gender identity.
“Simply put, transgender service members will no longer be subject to the possibility of discharge or separation on the basis of gender identity; transgender servicemembers can serve in their gender when transition is complete, and the gender marker in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) is changed, and transgender service members should know that they are accepted throughout the U.S. military,” the White House press release read.
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