Convicted felon TV personality Donald Trump will, again, become the US president from January 20, 2025, but outgoing president Joe Biden is leaving the office by enacting the first anti-LGBTQIA federal law since the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
Biden signed the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, which has a provision inserted by right-wing politician Mike Johnson to block healthcare for the transgender children of military servicemembers.
To be fair, Biden’s explanatory statement on this emphasized how extremist anti-LGBTQIA Republicans have taken control of US politics, leaving those advocating for human rights at a disadvantage.
“My Administration strongly opposes Division A, title VII, subtitle A, section 708 of the Act, which inhibits the Department of Defense’s ability to treat all persons equally under the law, no matter their gender identity. By prohibiting the use of appropriated funds, the Department of Defense will be compelled to contravene clinical practice guidelines and clinical recommendations. The provision targets a group based on that group’s gender identity and interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children. This section undermines our all-volunteer military’s ability to recruit and retain the finest fighting force the world has ever known by denying health care coverage to thousands of our service members’ children. No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve our Nation,” Biden wrote.
The US used to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, an anti-LGBTQ+ federal law that explicitly targeted military servicemembers from 1994.
