On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that overturned a controversial ban by his predecessor on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military, a move cheered by LGBTQ advocates.
The news was reported by Reuters.
Flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Biden signed the executive order in the Oval Office.
“It’s simple: America is safer when everyone qualified to serve can do so openly and with pride,” Biden said on Twitter after signing the order.
Biden's supporters backed his decision. However, the advocates argued that the fact that any president can decide whether transgender people can serve in the military is problematic. Any American who is fit and able should have the right to serve.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he supported the move and would immediately take action to ensure that transgender people are eligible to enter the military.
In general, about 1.3 million active personnel serve in the U.S. military, Department of Defense data shows. There are no official figures on the number of trans members but the Rand Corp, a U.S. policy research institute, estimated in 2016 about 2,450 active service members were transgender. Notably, that back in 2016 Former Democratic President Barack Obama allowed trans people to serve openly and receive medical care to transition genders, but Republican President Donald Trump froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain.