United States demonstrations against Trump’s transphobia

Nick Rondoletto, left, and Doug Thorogood, a couple from San Francisco, wave a rainbow flag and hold a sign against a proposed ban of transgendered people in the military at a protest in the Castro District. AP photo

From ABC in the USA:

Protests erupt nationwide following Trump’s transgender military ban announcement

By Karma Allen

Jul 27, 2017, 1:22 AM ET

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Wednesday in New York City, Washington D.C. and San Francisco to protest of President Donald Trump‘s ban on transgender service members in the military.

The protests came just hours after Trump announced the ban on Twitter. …

Protesters assembled in at least two locations in San Francisco Wednesday evening to speak out against the ban.

Several hundred protesters gathered at the city’s Harvey Milk Plaza — named after the gay rights icon and the country’s first openly gay elected official — and urged those in attendance to “stand up” and “fight back.” …

LOS ANGELES

Protesters, including transgender veterans, gathered at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood. Some carried signs that read “Proud Trans Vet” and “LGBT Solidarity.”

“There are people who are retiring in the military, there are people who’ve done 18, 19 years and are about to retire and now it’s all taken away from them,” five-year military veteran Rudy Akbarian, 27, told The Associated Press. “It’s not fair.”

The ACLU of Southern California says it will sue the Trump administration to stop the ban if it actually becomes policy.

From Associated Press in the USA today:

Combat veteran Shane Ortega, a transgender man in Los Angeles who served in the Army and Marines for more than a decade, said troops who are forced out may get a bad conduct discharge for being transgender, jeopardizing their VA benefits and future.

“That’s the equivalent of being a convicted felon in American society,” said Ortega, 30, who transitioned to a male in 2009, seven years before leaving the military after serving multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “They will not get gainful employment.”