WASHINGTON — Today, The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people, celebrated President Biden’s executive order to reverse the ban on transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Since the ban’s implementation in 2018, The Trevor Project has filed four amicus briefs with U.S. Courts of Appeals seeking to overturn it — emphasizing the discriminatory policy’s harmful impact on transgender and nonbinary youth mental health.
“This discriminatory ban was cruel and unnecessary from its inception, and we hope that its reversal sends a clear message to transgender and nonbinary youth everywhere that they should be proud of who they are, that they are deserving of our country’s respect, and that they have the right to serve with honor,” said Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project. “We know that supporting and affirming transgender and nonbinary youth produces positive mental health outcomes and reduces suicide risk — and that discriminatory policies have an adverse effect. The Trevor Project will continue to work with the Biden Administration to implement inclusive policies and practices that empower all trans youth to pursue their talents and dreams and live their lives free from discrimination and fear.”
According to new polling data from The Trevor Project and Morning Consult, 60% of American adults support allowing openly transgender people to serve in the U.S. military, including a majority of military households.
A recent national survey conducted by The Trevor Project between October and December of 2020 found that over 90% of LGBTQ youth said that recent politics negatively influenced their well-being. Further, a peer-reviewed study by researchers at The Trevor Project found that transgender and nonbinary youth who reported experiencing discrimination based on their gender identity had more than double the odds of attempting suicide in the past year compared to transgender and nonbinary youth who did not experience gender identity-based discrimination.
The federal executive order comes as states across the country consider legislation targeting transgender and nonbinary youth. Last week, The Trevor Project joined state and local partners in Montana to condemn the Montana House Judiciary Committee’s passage of House Bill 112, which would restrict transgender women and girls from playing on school sports teams that correspond with their gender identity, and House Bill 113, which would prohibit medical professionals from providing best-practice medical care to transgender youth.