Transcripts For CSPAN Representative Kennedy Reacts To Presi

Tilde News Conference talked about President Trumps announcement on twitter that the u. S. Military would no longer accept Transgender Service members. This is just under an hour. Thank you for coming. Im grateful for your presence and voices. Ladies and gentlemen, today the president of the United States told thousands of American Service members that though they will lay down their lives for us, that he, that we, will not fight for him. As we defend our freedom, many of which we take for granted every single day, we will not offer them the most basic freedom in return, the ability to be true to yourself. The president dared to question the patriotism of our military, and in doing so, questioned our nations greatest strength, its greatness and its goodness. More than that, the haphazard and hateful policy shift threatens not only the livelihoods of thousands of Service Members and families around the world, but calls into question some of our deepest values as well, and he didnt even have the courage to look them in the eye when he did it. He hid inside a house they give life and limb to defend. He attacked their humanity and basic human rights. To every single transgender man and woman in our military, on our shores and well beyond, please know that we will never take your service, your courage, your patriotism for granted. You deserve better from your president , from your country, from your government than what you have seen today. I am honored to be here and be joined by jessica and her daughter blue. Her husband, an activeduty member of our military overseas. His daughter has been denied treatment she needs, a little girl, so she can grow up to be a fantastic young woman we know she can be. She is here today asking members of congress to try to make sure she can get the medical treatment she needs that has been denied to her by the commander on that base. Ladies and gentlemen, i am honored to yield the time to an extraordinary leader for our country and quality around the world, democratic leader nancy pelosi. [applause] thank you congressman kennedy for your great leadership of the Transgender Equality caucus and for your wonderful words today. Thank you, joe. Thank you for introducing us to blue and her mom jessica. Thank you, blue, for your courage. We are honored by your presence. As we are honored by chad and mark for their ongoing leadership again and again. I am honored to be with all of my colleagues and to remind the president of the United States that on this day, this very day, in 1948, president truman signed executive order desegregating the u. S. Military. Here we are 69 years later, President Trump has chosen this day to commit an act of cowardice, a cowardly act, the way he did it and what he did. On this day, to unleash a wave file, hateful agenda that will blindside thousands of patriotic americans already serving with honor and bravery. It is an arbitrary decision designed to humiliate Transgender Americans who have stepped up to serve and defend our country. The president s allegations of tremendous medical costs are boldfaced lies and a ludicrous pretense for his Hateful Campaign against these brave men and women in uniform. And those who have become veterans. A study commissioned by the department of defense found, my colleagues, that the cost of providing medically necessary care to be very small. In fact, every year the pentagon spends five times more on viagra than it does for transitionrelated care, five times more on viagra. This mornings tweets reveal a president with no respect for the courageous men and women who risk their lives to defend our freedoms. This disgusting ban will weaken our military. This is not about strengthening our country. Once again, President Trump has shown his conduct is not driven by honor, decency, or national security, but by raw prejudice, and they have even said they thought this was a political advantage for them, so this is a dark day for thousands of heroes in our military, but a dark day for all of us, for our entire country, and with that, i am honored to bring to the podium a person whose leadership i have respected for a long time. He is the executive director of the National Center on Transgender Equality. [cheers and applause] thank you so much, leader pelosi. The president of the nine states this morning that he is planning to blow 15,000 holes in military readiness. It is an absolute disgrace, a shame unpatriotic, and cowardly. I and the executive director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, but i am also an american and this is my country. The 13,00015,000 Service Members who are transgender are proud americans serving their country and the president apparently even without consulting the pentagon, slitting their throats. It is unconscious of all, it is bad humanity. We cannot run a country by policy done by whim and tweet. These are amazing Service Members who have been studied for years by the military. They have determined this is not going to be any kind of distraction to have Transgender Service members. In fact in the year that it has been allowed, there have been no distractions. The first disruption and distraction was today by the distractor in chief. We dont know why he is doing this. He must have some political or petty motive, but you do not do this the military. His excuse about medical treatment and what it costs, i will say this and say clearly, we as americans never have and never should tell Service Members they can not have medical treatment that their military doctors say they need period. This is wrong. It is stupid. It is unpatriotic. Somebody at the pentagon or and Congress Needs to talk to the president and talk him out of this nonsense. We are so heartened today to see some Many Republican United States senators issuing statements about how wrong this is. We hope someone can bring him to his senses. I am thankful to representative kennedy, leader policy, and all the members of congress who understand what a threat this is to our country, not just transgender people, but our country. The president of the United States this morning announced he is going 15,000 holes in our military readiness. Thank you very much. [applause] i apologize. Next, congressman jared polis. Thank you. Today because of President Trumps announcement, america will be less safe. Nearly 15,000 transgender individuals bravely serve in the military. Rather being judged on their merits, ability, or need for them in the field are being judged simply on their gender identity and being removed from the military. Is an assault on the military and reduces military readiness. It should be about defending our freedom, not a mechanism to deny freedom. Transgender americans should be able to serve our nation wearing a uniform to the fullest extent of their merit and abilities. The units and Service Members who rely on their transgender teammates are now faced with uncertainty about the future, possible holes and our readiness and cohesive units that have trained so hard, where each and every member of those teams are essential for our mission success. While Transgender Service members are supposed to be focusing on their mission, now they are focusing on their future in the military today and tomorrow. It is a dangerous world and we cannot afford to weaken our military by kicking out highperforming Service Members is because of their gender identity. I am proud to stand with representative kennedy, our equality caucus, and so many others here today, because for Transgender Service members, please know that we hear are with you. You are respected and appreciated. Your contributions to the defense of our country are appreciated, and no we are fighting for you. I am joined by representative joe crowley, the chair of the democratic caucus. [applause] thank you. We have come so far as a nation. We are better than this. This is not reflective of who we are. The test that everyone in the military needs to go through is whether or not they can do the job. Can they take that hill . That is the test of our men and women in service today. With the president is doing is not uplifting. He is demoralizing the men and women in our armed services. That is what the president has done today. We as a nation are better than that. Our nation needs to take back this hill, to send a message to this president that this intolerance, this attack on the marginalized they are not weak, but it is a message to the marginalized who find themselves outside the pale that they are not wanted, and that is not the message of our country. It is not the message of our caucus or the people who stand behind me, and democrats and republicans together are saying this is not our america. I am so proud of joe kennedy and all his work and leader pelosi in their statements, but this goes to the heart of who we are as americans. My son just yesterday took the oath to defend our nation against enemies foreign and domestic. It is a solemn vow. [applause] that is exactly what these men and women are doing as well, taking that oath. Who are we to question . If they can past the test, make the grade, they should be given a chance to do the job. With that, i call upon chad griffin. Today, donald trump has proven himself to be as unpatriotic as he is unfit to be commander in chief. By announcing via twitter a and on Transgender Military Service, he has launched an all out assault on the Lgbt Community and put a target on the backs of more than 15,000 transgender troops proudly serving in our military today. This disgusting action in dangers the lives of American Service members, undermines military readiness, and makes our country less safe. It is their latest effort by donald trump and mike pence to undo our progress and drag lgbtq people back into the closet. When the pentagon lifted the ban on Transgender Service under the obama administration, study after study found no reason Transgender Americans could not serve their country. On tuesday, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen said discriminating against Transgender Service members threatens to harm our readiness and troop morale, but as he often does, trump ignores the facts, the generals, and he ignored reality. This is part of a pattern, a pattern of the rhetoric and unstable behavior by a president who appears increasingly isolated, disturbed, and incapable of taking action in the best interest of the country when there is the slightest opportunity for cynical, political gain. He has attacked muslims, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, people of color. He has attacked us all. Make no mistake, donald trump, a man who received five draft deferments during the vietnam war, is using the lives of Service Members as pawns. There are more than 15,000 transgenders Service Members and veterans who have done more to serve their country than donald trump has his entire life. Today, the commander in chief at tax them all. When this president at tax one of us as you see here today, he is going to keep hearing from all of us. Thank you. [applause] thank you all for. Real quick, today, a president who never served is attacking some heroes who have. With a single tweet, the president has left thousands on the battlefield of discrimination. That the president has become more extreme on this issue then republican controlled caucus which just days ago joined with all democrats to say no to discrimination against lgbt Service Members once again. It is wrong that the president is more extreme on this issue than john mccain, richard shelby, joni ernst. What have we come to when the president of the United States does not listen to the military heroes in his own party and it the men and women who are serving right now today . Maybe he should talk to christian beck, a transgender woman who was a member of Seal Team Six and served in iraq. Maybe the president should talk to riley dosh, who just graduated from west point and is being denied a commission in the army after we all invested for four years in her training. Who has passed every test to join our military, and yet is being arbitrarily denied that right. Why . And to the thousands of men and women in the United States military today who are wondering whether they fit or will be allowed to continue their service, i want to apologize to you on behalf of your government. You deserve a lot better than this. All i can tell you is that i do not know how long it will take, but, in the end, love will win. We have been here before. We have heard about readiness when African Americans were willing to serve in being denied to serve and being denied that right. We heard about Health Issues in Health Issues and medical costs when women were denied the right to serve equally. We have heard every tire d discriminatory argument before, and they have always fallen away over time in the face of reason, decency, and equality. Love is going to win. I dont know how long it will take. I am getting tired of fighting this fight, but we are ready have a majority on the floor in the house of representatives. When we have the leading conservative military hero in the senate saying it is unnecessary. Yet somehow, we have a man in the white house who prefers discrimination to inclusion. Love is going to win. Love is love. Hate is hate is hate is hate is hate is hate, and no right to believe anything can be derived from it. Hang in there. We will win this fight one day. I promise you. [applause] thank you all. Thank you to my colleagues and everyone who is standing on the right side of history in alignment with our american values. Our brave transgender troops are not a burden or distraction. They are american patriots. They volunteered to put their lives on the line, and their service should be welcomed, respected, and honored. After 24 years of service as an enlisted soldier, i know what it takes to build teams to accomplish our mission, and as mr. Maloney pointed out, this president who has not served a single day knows nothing about those rings. Those things. The men and women who serve our nation have made our military the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. They meet the challenges we ask of them every day from taking defense for their homeland to hunting down terrorists who seek to do is harm to all inns of the earth. The one challenge they should not have to face is to face down of bigoted commander in chief when they come home. This announcement is clear the president fails to understand the fundamental truth about our military. Our troops are capable professionals who will carry out any mission this nation requires. The department of defense has a plan already to ensure all those who want to serve our nation can. All of us know this is a superficial, simplistic distraction, because of the president s other problems so he tried to pick the most vulnerable to drive a wedge amongst them. That tactic has never worked in this country, and it never will. This Group Standing here will ensure that. It is heartbreaking that, on a day of celebration of our nation moving forward, correcting the ills of the past, on the anniversary date of the desegregation of the military, that the president chose this day. If i thought there was more competency there, i would have thought they did that on purpose, but it was probably sheer bigotry that led them to that. Our nation has done this before. We have faced it down and prevailed. There is a sense of emergency. We have received calls to our office by heroes serving who deployed in the face of great danger, serving this nation who want to know if the careers are done as of this day. We as a nation this is one of those moments that we get to stand in the breach of making a choice in the direction we go, these policies as i have said have never done it before and it is time to what this to rest. To put this thing to rest. Brave americans who wish to serve this nation should be allowed to do so, respected, and should never expect an attack on the basic patriotism or humanity come from the white house. It is our pledge here to make sure that doesnt happen. Thank you. I will be followed by mr. Khan from wisconsin. [applause] thank you. Very glad to be here. As one of the cochairs of the equality caucus, i am proud of our leadership and all of our members. Look at how many people turned out today, because they are outraged by this decision of the president. I associate myself with all the remarks that have been made. Let me add this challenge to donald trump. Donald trump, be enough of a man to talk to a woman like kristin beck. She has a military career of over 20 years with Navy Seal Teams one, five, and elite six, deployed 13 times over two decades including bosnia, iraq, afghanistan, received a bronze star for valor and the purple heart for wounds suffered in combat. Talk to kristen beck. Talked to my former constituent who retired out of the army as a colonel. As a heroes those military about their records and compare it to your military record of zero. This is a draft dodger who is now dodging the military service of thousands and thousands of people. It is completely without any respect or regard for every News Conference<\/a> talked about President Trump<\/a>s announcement on twitter that the u. S. Military would no longer accept Transgender Service<\/a> members. This is just under an hour. Thank you for coming. Im grateful for your presence and voices. Ladies and gentlemen, today the president of the United States<\/a> told thousands of American Service<\/a> members that though they will lay down their lives for us, that he, that we, will not fight for him. As we defend our freedom, many of which we take for granted every single day, we will not offer them the most basic freedom in return, the ability to be true to yourself. The president dared to question the patriotism of our military, and in doing so, questioned our nations greatest strength, its greatness and its goodness. More than that, the haphazard and hateful policy shift threatens not only the livelihoods of thousands of Service Members<\/a> and families around the world, but calls into question some of our deepest values as well, and he didnt even have the courage to look them in the eye when he did it. He hid inside a house they give life and limb to defend. He attacked their humanity and basic human rights. To every single transgender man and woman in our military, on our shores and well beyond, please know that we will never take your service, your courage, your patriotism for granted. You deserve better from your president , from your country, from your government than what you have seen today. I am honored to be here and be joined by jessica and her daughter blue. Her husband, an activeduty member of our military overseas. His daughter has been denied treatment she needs, a little girl, so she can grow up to be a fantastic young woman we know she can be. She is here today asking members of congress to try to make sure she can get the medical treatment she needs that has been denied to her by the commander on that base. Ladies and gentlemen, i am honored to yield the time to an extraordinary leader for our country and quality around the world, democratic leader nancy pelosi. [applause] thank you congressman kennedy for your great leadership of the Transgender Equality<\/a> caucus and for your wonderful words today. Thank you, joe. Thank you for introducing us to blue and her mom jessica. Thank you, blue, for your courage. We are honored by your presence. As we are honored by chad and mark for their ongoing leadership again and again. I am honored to be with all of my colleagues and to remind the president of the United States<\/a> that on this day, this very day, in 1948, president truman signed executive order desegregating the u. S. Military. Here we are 69 years later, President Trump<\/a> has chosen this day to commit an act of cowardice, a cowardly act, the way he did it and what he did. On this day, to unleash a wave file, hateful agenda that will blindside thousands of patriotic americans already serving with honor and bravery. It is an arbitrary decision designed to humiliate Transgender Americans<\/a> who have stepped up to serve and defend our country. The president s allegations of tremendous medical costs are boldfaced lies and a ludicrous pretense for his Hateful Campaign<\/a> against these brave men and women in uniform. And those who have become veterans. A study commissioned by the department of defense found, my colleagues, that the cost of providing medically necessary care to be very small. In fact, every year the pentagon spends five times more on viagra than it does for transitionrelated care, five times more on viagra. This mornings tweets reveal a president with no respect for the courageous men and women who risk their lives to defend our freedoms. This disgusting ban will weaken our military. This is not about strengthening our country. Once again, President Trump<\/a> has shown his conduct is not driven by honor, decency, or national security, but by raw prejudice, and they have even said they thought this was a political advantage for them, so this is a dark day for thousands of heroes in our military, but a dark day for all of us, for our entire country, and with that, i am honored to bring to the podium a person whose leadership i have respected for a long time. He is the executive director of the National Center<\/a> on Transgender Equality<\/a>. [cheers and applause] thank you so much, leader pelosi. The president of the nine states this morning that he is planning to blow 15,000 holes in military readiness. It is an absolute disgrace, a shame unpatriotic, and cowardly. I and the executive director for the National Center<\/a> for Transgender Equality<\/a>, but i am also an american and this is my country. The 13,00015,000 Service Members<\/a> who are transgender are proud americans serving their country and the president apparently even without consulting the pentagon, slitting their throats. It is unconscious of all, it is bad humanity. We cannot run a country by policy done by whim and tweet. These are amazing Service Members<\/a> who have been studied for years by the military. They have determined this is not going to be any kind of distraction to have Transgender Service<\/a> members. In fact in the year that it has been allowed, there have been no distractions. The first disruption and distraction was today by the distractor in chief. We dont know why he is doing this. He must have some political or petty motive, but you do not do this the military. His excuse about medical treatment and what it costs, i will say this and say clearly, we as americans never have and never should tell Service Members<\/a> they can not have medical treatment that their military doctors say they need period. This is wrong. It is stupid. It is unpatriotic. Somebody at the pentagon or and Congress Needs<\/a> to talk to the president and talk him out of this nonsense. We are so heartened today to see some Many Republican<\/a> United States<\/a> senators issuing statements about how wrong this is. We hope someone can bring him to his senses. I am thankful to representative kennedy, leader policy, and all the members of congress who understand what a threat this is to our country, not just transgender people, but our country. The president of the United States<\/a> this morning announced he is going 15,000 holes in our military readiness. Thank you very much. [applause] i apologize. Next, congressman jared polis. Thank you. Today because of President Trump<\/a>s announcement, america will be less safe. Nearly 15,000 transgender individuals bravely serve in the military. Rather being judged on their merits, ability, or need for them in the field are being judged simply on their gender identity and being removed from the military. Is an assault on the military and reduces military readiness. It should be about defending our freedom, not a mechanism to deny freedom. Transgender americans should be able to serve our nation wearing a uniform to the fullest extent of their merit and abilities. The units and Service Members<\/a> who rely on their transgender teammates are now faced with uncertainty about the future, possible holes and our readiness and cohesive units that have trained so hard, where each and every member of those teams are essential for our mission success. While Transgender Service<\/a> members are supposed to be focusing on their mission, now they are focusing on their future in the military today and tomorrow. It is a dangerous world and we cannot afford to weaken our military by kicking out highperforming Service Members<\/a> is because of their gender identity. I am proud to stand with representative kennedy, our equality caucus, and so many others here today, because for Transgender Service<\/a> members, please know that we hear are with you. You are respected and appreciated. Your contributions to the defense of our country are appreciated, and no we are fighting for you. I am joined by representative joe crowley, the chair of the democratic caucus. [applause] thank you. We have come so far as a nation. We are better than this. This is not reflective of who we are. The test that everyone in the military needs to go through is whether or not they can do the job. Can they take that hill . That is the test of our men and women in service today. With the president is doing is not uplifting. He is demoralizing the men and women in our armed services. That is what the president has done today. We as a nation are better than that. Our nation needs to take back this hill, to send a message to this president that this intolerance, this attack on the marginalized they are not weak, but it is a message to the marginalized who find themselves outside the pale that they are not wanted, and that is not the message of our country. It is not the message of our caucus or the people who stand behind me, and democrats and republicans together are saying this is not our america. I am so proud of joe kennedy and all his work and leader pelosi in their statements, but this goes to the heart of who we are as americans. My son just yesterday took the oath to defend our nation against enemies foreign and domestic. It is a solemn vow. [applause] that is exactly what these men and women are doing as well, taking that oath. Who are we to question . If they can past the test, make the grade, they should be given a chance to do the job. With that, i call upon chad griffin. Today, donald trump has proven himself to be as unpatriotic as he is unfit to be commander in chief. By announcing via twitter a and on Transgender Military Service<\/a>, he has launched an all out assault on the Lgbt Community<\/a> and put a target on the backs of more than 15,000 transgender troops proudly serving in our military today. This disgusting action in dangers the lives of American Service<\/a> members, undermines military readiness, and makes our country less safe. It is their latest effort by donald trump and mike pence to undo our progress and drag lgbtq people back into the closet. When the pentagon lifted the ban on Transgender Service<\/a> under the obama administration, study after study found no reason Transgender Americans<\/a> could not serve their country. On tuesday, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen said discriminating against Transgender Service<\/a> members threatens to harm our readiness and troop morale, but as he often does, trump ignores the facts, the generals, and he ignored reality. This is part of a pattern, a pattern of the rhetoric and unstable behavior by a president who appears increasingly isolated, disturbed, and incapable of taking action in the best interest of the country when there is the slightest opportunity for cynical, political gain. He has attacked muslims, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, people of color. He has attacked us all. Make no mistake, donald trump, a man who received five draft deferments during the vietnam war, is using the lives of Service Members<\/a> as pawns. There are more than 15,000 transgenders Service Members<\/a> and veterans who have done more to serve their country than donald trump has his entire life. Today, the commander in chief at tax them all. When this president at tax one of us as you see here today, he is going to keep hearing from all of us. Thank you. [applause] thank you all for. Real quick, today, a president who never served is attacking some heroes who have. With a single tweet, the president has left thousands on the battlefield of discrimination. That the president has become more extreme on this issue then republican controlled caucus which just days ago joined with all democrats to say no to discrimination against lgbt Service Members<\/a> once again. It is wrong that the president is more extreme on this issue than john mccain, richard shelby, joni ernst. What have we come to when the president of the United States<\/a> does not listen to the military heroes in his own party and it the men and women who are serving right now today . Maybe he should talk to christian beck, a transgender woman who was a member of Seal Team Six<\/a> and served in iraq. Maybe the president should talk to riley dosh, who just graduated from west point and is being denied a commission in the army after we all invested for four years in her training. Who has passed every test to join our military, and yet is being arbitrarily denied that right. Why . And to the thousands of men and women in the United States<\/a> military today who are wondering whether they fit or will be allowed to continue their service, i want to apologize to you on behalf of your government. You deserve a lot better than this. All i can tell you is that i do not know how long it will take, but, in the end, love will win. We have been here before. We have heard about readiness when African Americans<\/a> were willing to serve in being denied to serve and being denied that right. We heard about Health Issues<\/a> in Health Issues<\/a> and medical costs when women were denied the right to serve equally. We have heard every tire d discriminatory argument before, and they have always fallen away over time in the face of reason, decency, and equality. Love is going to win. I dont know how long it will take. I am getting tired of fighting this fight, but we are ready have a majority on the floor in the house of representatives. When we have the leading conservative military hero in the senate saying it is unnecessary. Yet somehow, we have a man in the white house who prefers discrimination to inclusion. Love is going to win. Love is love. Hate is hate is hate is hate is hate is hate, and no right to believe anything can be derived from it. Hang in there. We will win this fight one day. I promise you. [applause] thank you all. Thank you to my colleagues and everyone who is standing on the right side of history in alignment with our american values. Our brave transgender troops are not a burden or distraction. They are american patriots. They volunteered to put their lives on the line, and their service should be welcomed, respected, and honored. After 24 years of service as an enlisted soldier, i know what it takes to build teams to accomplish our mission, and as mr. Maloney pointed out, this president who has not served a single day knows nothing about those rings. Those things. The men and women who serve our nation have made our military the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. They meet the challenges we ask of them every day from taking defense for their homeland to hunting down terrorists who seek to do is harm to all inns of the earth. The one challenge they should not have to face is to face down of bigoted commander in chief when they come home. This announcement is clear the president fails to understand the fundamental truth about our military. Our troops are capable professionals who will carry out any mission this nation requires. The department of defense has a plan already to ensure all those who want to serve our nation can. All of us know this is a superficial, simplistic distraction, because of the president s other problems so he tried to pick the most vulnerable to drive a wedge amongst them. That tactic has never worked in this country, and it never will. This Group Standing<\/a> here will ensure that. It is heartbreaking that, on a day of celebration of our nation moving forward, correcting the ills of the past, on the anniversary date of the desegregation of the military, that the president chose this day. If i thought there was more competency there, i would have thought they did that on purpose, but it was probably sheer bigotry that led them to that. Our nation has done this before. We have faced it down and prevailed. There is a sense of emergency. We have received calls to our office by heroes serving who deployed in the face of great danger, serving this nation who want to know if the careers are done as of this day. We as a nation this is one of those moments that we get to stand in the breach of making a choice in the direction we go, these policies as i have said have never done it before and it is time to what this to rest. To put this thing to rest. Brave americans who wish to serve this nation should be allowed to do so, respected, and should never expect an attack on the basic patriotism or humanity come from the white house. It is our pledge here to make sure that doesnt happen. Thank you. I will be followed by mr. Khan from wisconsin. [applause] thank you. Very glad to be here. As one of the cochairs of the equality caucus, i am proud of our leadership and all of our members. Look at how many people turned out today, because they are outraged by this decision of the president. I associate myself with all the remarks that have been made. Let me add this challenge to donald trump. Donald trump, be enough of a man to talk to a woman like kristin beck. She has a military career of over 20 years with Navy Seal Teams<\/a> one, five, and elite six, deployed 13 times over two decades including bosnia, iraq, afghanistan, received a bronze star for valor and the purple heart for wounds suffered in combat. Talk to kristen beck. Talked to my former constituent who retired out of the army as a colonel. As a heroes those military about their records and compare it to your military record of zero. This is a draft dodger who is now dodging the military service of thousands and thousands of people. It is completely without any respect or regard for every Single Person<\/a> who serves this country with honor and respect, including those members who are transgender. I would like to add that, within the hour, the rules committee at 3 00, scott peters who could not be here has an amendment up that would say no dollars in the military omnibus though will be omnibus bill that will be before us, no dollar will be used to support the ban on Transgender Service<\/a>, so hopefully we will get a chance to have every member of Congress Held<\/a> accountable on this issue. I want to say thank you for everyone being here today. I know in the long run that we will win on this, but right now it is a sad day when we have a president who does Something Like<\/a> this. With that, i would like to introduce the next person who is a member of congress and someone who has served us so aptly in the military. I notice he took off his stylish sunglasses, ruben gallego. [applause] thank you. As a young man, i was lucky enough to serve in the United States<\/a> marine corps in an infantry platoon. Let me tell you if someone was taken out of my team all of a sudden because of some stupid tweet, i would be really ticked off. This is not how you run the military. You do not dictate military policy through tweets and whims. It is called dod directive. That is what professionals do. There is a reason no general decided to talk about this. It is embarrassing and down. And dumb. The idea that the president is using the United States<\/a> military to distract from his utter lack of leadership, and the fact he is totally impotent when it comes to getting his projects and legislation done. Now, what he needs to do is to bully on some of our greatest americans. It is disgusting. It is unamerican. Just the idea that a draft dodger, somebody who watched his his commitment to serve his country, who also then bragged about it and who said his vietnam was avoiding stds in the 1970s and 1980s, then to turn around and tell these young men and women they are willing to sacrifice that they are no longer accepted. It is disgusting, hypocritical, and like the speaker and leaders said, it is outright cowardice. This president is acting like a coward. Unlike the men and women who are trying to serve who are not. Please join us. Call your senators and members of congress and demand we protect our 15,000 veterans and military personnel and reverse this really dumb decision. Thank you. [applause] next up, it is my pleasure to introduce senator lee. Thank you very much. Let me thank all my colleagues. Congressman joe kennedy especially, and everyone else for your tremendous leadership. I have to say a couple of things. I want to be clear, trans Service Members<\/a> are not a disruption. Secondly, they are brave individuals serving our country with courage and conviction which is more than i can say about this commander in chief. Much more. [applause] trumps dangerous and unpatriotic decision to reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in the military is reprehensible. This unamerican policy places a target on the back of transgender troops and attempts to force them back into the closet. We are here to day to send a message loud and clear, not on our watch. Not on our watch. President trump, Vice President<\/a> pence, and the entire administration are seeking to roll back decades of progress on lgbt equality. Their agenda undermines our core values as a nation and sends a signal that hatred and discrimination have a place in the United States<\/a> of america, but nothing could be further from the truth. Let me just say, my fathers served my father served in a segregated unit during walk or world war two. I have seen the pays caused by bythe pain caused discrimination in the armed forces. I have felt it. 69 years ago, president truman ordered the integration of the armed forces, affirming that there shall be equality of opportunity for all, and this means all persons. That means everyone. That is who we are as a nation. I hope that the president listens to what we are saying today and rescinds this horrible directive. Todayre than that, i hope that he, in addition, to resending this measure, i hope he apologizes. I hope he apologizes to the Transgender Community<\/a> and to the entire United States<\/a> of america. He owes us an apology. Thank you again. [applause] let me now bring up our representative from michigan. Thank you. [applause] thank you all. I will be brief. A lot has been set. Has been said. I want to add my voice. Donald trump has exercised in an uncanny way his incredible cowardice by hiding behind a tweet to discriminate against americans who are willing to put on the uniform of their country and put their lives at risk. This is the act of a coward and the act of an ignorant person. He ought to be ashamed of himself. Of course, this is a man who has no shame. A person who gives a warm embrace to his personal hero, Vladimir Putin<\/a>, then insults americans who are willing to put their lives at risk to defend their fellow americans is a person who is unfit to be the commander in chief. It is as simple as that. Let me now bring up a leader on issues of equality and justice. Somebody who came to congress at the same time i did, congressman mark takano. [applause] thank you. We talk a lot about courage here in washington, d. C. , but let me tell you what really takes courage. It takes courage to own your own identity knowing that there are people in your life who will not accept who you are. It takes courage to volunteer for the United States<\/a> military knowing that we are a nation at war. It takes courage to put on the military uniform every day knowing you are risking your life for a country you love. It does not take courage to go on twitter and score political points by insulting thousands of Transgender Service<\/a> members. This morning, President Trump<\/a> sends a message to the Transgender Community<\/a> that they are not fit to serve this nation. Here is my message to trans people across america, do not let this president or anyone else make you question your value. You are not alone. [applause] in fact, you are joined by the many minorities, minority communities of this country who at one time have been denied the right to serve. 75 years ago, executive order 9066 led to the imprisonment of my parents, grandparents, and most of my extended family. Draft eligible japanese americans were labeled as enemy aliens, undesirable and unfit to serve. They insisted on proving their allegiance to america anyway. Three of my great uncles served alln infantry regiment, an segregated japaneseamerican fighting unit. In april 1945, just five months before the end of world war ii, my great uncle died fighting for our country that had imprisoned my family unjustly. Transgender Service Members<\/a> volunteered to fight for a nation who does not expect respect their right. They believe america would become a place where every person would be afforded the full rights and protections of the constitution. Now, we must prove them right. We must Work Together<\/a> in congress and across america to make sure this nation lives up to the ideals that my family and so many other families have sacrificed to protect we. To protect. We must send a message to President Trump<\/a> that we will not accept and not forget his broken promises to the Lgbt Community<\/a>. Thank you. Next, sonny hoyer, the democratic whip. [applause] this is not a new fight. We have been here before. We were here in the 1940s, in the last century, and that the military would be undermined if africanamericans served sidebyside. That assertion was wrong, and Donald Trumps<\/a> assertion today is wrong. Two weeks ago, the house rejected a measure to discriminate against Transgender Americans<\/a> serving in our military. My party was unanimous in rejecting that measure. Yesterday, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mike mullen said there is no reason why Transgender Americans<\/a> should not serve openly in uniform. The former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff mike mullen. Todays tweets by President Trump<\/a> banning Transgender Military Service<\/a> go against the pentagons transgender advice, that the service of Transgender Americans<\/a> will not create problems and is, in fact, in the best interest of national defense. The commander in chief in this instance is dead flat wrong. [applause] this attempted ban will weaken our security by depriving the military of dedicated and counted recruits. And talented recruits. Thousands of Transgender Americans<\/a> are already serving openly with distinction. I was proud as the majority leader of the house of representatives to bring legislation to the floor in 2010 to end dont ask, dont tell. There were some who run their hands and said, if you do that, our services are going to be deeply divided and undermined. They, like the president , were dead wrong. I am, and i know the members with whom i serve, are going to continue working with my colleagues to make our military as strong and as inclusive as possible. It is in americas best interest, and it is the right thing to do. Thank you for letting me to have this opportunity to join so many of my colleagues and courageous americans to speak out for a for equality and effectiveness in our military. Thank you. [applause] representative gomez. I want to thank joe kennedy for his consistent moral leadership. On this issue, i think he speaks for young people across the country. We simply dont understand how discrimination has a place in the 21st century. If you ask any young person in this country, they will tell you President Trump<\/a> is on the wrong side of history. The only thing i know is the next president will overturn this. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Transgender individuals are part of the fabric of america and have been part of the military, whether we have acknowledged them or not. Today, the attack on active duty military personnel is appalling. The arguments against allowing Transgender Service<\/a> members to serve openly in our military are the same arguments that have been used against every other group prohibited from serving in our nations history including black and latino men, women, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. Every time we open the door, the same tired and repeatedly disproven arguments are brought back. Any individual in that new group regardless of his or her ability is unfit to serve, that they would disrupt the unit cohesion. Not once have these idiotic warnings been proven right. We also hear that ending discrimination is a social experiment on the military, which is an extra ordinary inversion of the truth. Not only should they be allowed to serve, they already do and always have, albeit not openly. The department of defense estimates thousands of transgender individuals serve today with no issues. Imposing blanket bans that prejudge Service Members<\/a> based on their identity, rather than merits, is imposing social biases on the military. The president is attacking the individuals he asks to risk their lives. It is shameful. It must be undone. The president has truly earned his title today of bigot in chief. [applause] thank you. I always want i also want to recognize the secretary who is with us. Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us as well. Thank you. I am honored to join with my colleagues to stand here. As it has been mentioned before, it is ironic that 69 years ago today president truman efficiently desegregated the military. Today is the actual anniversary of this. So, it is ironically distasteful that this president chose this anniversary to issue this painful decision, and he did it using the same old script, hate, ignorance, and bigotry, the same script used against the africanamerican community. The same script used against women. The same script used against the lesbian and gay community. All of them were told, as the president said, that if they joined the military, it would cause disruption. We know that rather than causing disruption that their conclusion their inclusion in the military proudly benefited the nation as a whole. And so, whether we know transgender individuals, africanamericans, lesbians, gays, they must continue and they will continue hopefully with this president to serve in the future with distinction and with honor. He is turning his back on 15,000 Transgender Service<\/a>members who are defending our country right now. We are talking about people out there defending our nation. This is the same man who told the Lgbtq Community<\/a> that i will fight for you. Thats what he said. I will fight for you. I will do everything in my power to protect you. This is not protection. This makes it real clear to all of us here that this president is not an ally. This president is an opponent, clear and simple. We need to recognize that fact and need to treat him accordingly. Thank you. [applause] i am susanne bier amici from suzanne from oregon. I am proud to have met with so many oregonians, including Transgender Service<\/a>members who served our nation honorably. The president s decision delivered via tweet today to deny the opportunity to serve goes against the values that our military fights to protect. Turning our backs on Transgender Service<\/a> members and all of the transgender youth considering joining the service is discriminatory and unacceptable. It was more than five years ago that we overturned dont ask, dont tell, and military exports experts have reported there are no negative effects of that. More than five years ago, a very bright young man i knew in oregon took his own life, because he wanted to serve in the military openly and he could not. I am here to say today to those Transgender Service<\/a> members and transgender youth, we are here for you. We are standing with you no matter how hot it is out here. We are beating the heat to beat the tweets, because we want everyone to know that you do not have to hide who you are. We are standing with you and are here to urge the Defense Department<\/a> continue to accept Transgender Service<\/a>members and their family who are serving and want to serve this country. It is who we stand for as americans. Thank you to our leadership for pulling us together on short notice to send a strong message that we stand with our Transgender Service<\/a> members and will continue this fight until we win. [applause] everybody, thank you for staying with us out here. I am susan davis, and as someone who stood proudly with president obama when we lifted the ban on gays serving in the military, dont ask, dont tell, i am very pleased to be here with my colleagues today. One of the things that the president needs to make very clear to our trans troops and veterans is one thing, and that is gratitude. Gratitude that they stood up, raised their right hand, and said, send me. They volunteered for our country courageously, and they continue to serve. Instead of gratitude, what have they gotten . A boot. We have people serving today. Can you imagine being pulled off the field, because someone decides that you should not be serving your country . We cant let that happen. We wont let that happen. Less than 1 of our country serves, so when we have people who have been through so much to make a decision around their gender identity, which none of us can hardly imagine how difficult that is, they are courageous. They are brave. They are strong. They are exactly the people that we need serving in our military today. Thank you all for being here. [applause] paul from new york. I am proud to stand with my colleagues in congress. I am proud to stand with members of the Transgender Community<\/a>, the Lgbt Community<\/a>, and those who advocate on their behalf. True leaders, true leaders unite. They do not divide. I question why this president divides this nation by discrimination that he expresses by his latest action. It is unacceptable. Thousands of transgender members of our military and tens of thousands of veterans from the Transgender Community<\/a> serve or have served this nation with distinction. They are willing to make the sacrifice, perhaps the supreme sacrifice, willing to endure the training and rigors of service. Why . Because they love their country. They have an undeniable, deeprooted sense of patriotism that encourages them to serve. For what do they fight . For freedom, human rights, and certainly to bring hope where there is hopelessness. So mr. President , why would you do this . Why do you stand as the obstruction to justice when this nation expresses through her veterans and military to fight for those causes of justice, freedom, of hope . Those of the Transgender Community<\/a> that love their country to the point that they want to serve to defend her and her principles should not be denied that service. They love their country. [applause] thank you. Instead of attacking the media, he is now attacking the Transgender Community<\/a>, and i want to thank the media for standing with us with this Important Message<\/a> today throughout the entire press conference. First, i want to thank our colleague joe kennedy for organizing us so beautifully to be here today for this important announcement, and all of my colleagues for their support today, and more importantly, their votes and support in the United States<\/a> congress for Transgender Equality<\/a> rights and rights for all people. Briefly, to top it all off, the white house has declared this week to be american heroes week. Yet with this decision, the president has disrespected countless veterans and current servicemembers. His announcement that he will ban all Transgender Americans<\/a> from serving in this countrys armed forces is blatant discrimination and unamerican. We will oppose it, and as maloney from the maloney caucus says, love will conquer all, and we are with him. Thank you. [applause] good afternoon. My name is donald from virginia four, a new congressman, but the real story i once to know is i i want you to know is that im the proud son of man buried in arlington, a warrant officer in the United States<\/a> army. It was the only job he ever loved. When he had to retire, that was the saddest day in his life. My daddy taught me that the only asks of american g. I. Their country is to do their very best. Today, the socalled commanderinchief has denied 15,000 soldiers the very best. He has denied them or is attempting to deny them the opportunity to serve our country, to do something he did not have the kurds to do. The courage to do. Whether his unholy embrace of Vladimir Putin<\/a> or now this, donald j. Trump has proven himself to be a clear and present danger to americas freedoms. We will push back for our transgender brothers and sisters. Hold on. Love will conquer all. We will beat this back. As has been said before, we were here 40 some years ago when they said africanamericans could not serve with white troops. We will prove that wrong. God bless you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. A huge thank you to the activist citizens who have been leading this fight day in and day out , year after year, and decade after decade. Thank you for coming. Thank you to my colleagues who made this a priority today. Love is love, and, in the end, love will win. Thank you very much. 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