https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/anti-trans-amendments-added-to-must>Six anti-trans amendments were added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday, Sept. 10, during a Congressional debate over the routine greenlighting of the defense budget. Seventeen Democrats voted to advance the bill despite this.>The provisions include two all-ages health insurance restrictions for trans service members and their families, who are already being forced out of the military; a rule barring cadets assigned male at birth from any “athletic program or activity” for women, functioning as a sort of military-grade anti-trans sports ban; a “trans bathroom ban” for all single-sex military facilities, including housing and locker rooms; the exclusion of gender identity from military surveys; and a functional ban on Pride flags at all Department of War (deadname: “Defense”) workplaces.>If signed into law, most trans-affirming care will be defunded for those on Tricare and the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP).>“I want to make sure we understand some broad themes—why these amendments are problematic,” said Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington.>“The transgender community has been targeted and discriminated against aggressively,” he said in a speech on the floor. “This is exactly what these amendments are about—a right-wing culture war.”
