There is “no medically valid reason” to exclude transgender people from serving in the military, the nation’s largest medical organization told Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday in a letter.
The American Medical Association said the Pentagon’s recent evaluation of the requirements to accommodate transgender personnel “mischaracterized and rejected the wide body of peer-reviewed research on the effectiveness of transgender medical care.”
The letter from CEO James Madara, first obtained by POLITICO, also slams the suggestion that the cost of providing medical care to transgender troops should be a reason to keep them out of the military.
“The financial cost is negligible and a rounding error in the defense budget,” Madara writes. “It should not be used as a reason to deny patriotic Americans an opportunity to serve their country. We should be honoring their service.”
A 2016 study conducted by the government-funded RAND Corporation estimated nearly 4,000 transgender troops are serving on active duty and in the reserves. Advocacy groups estimate the number is much higher, around 15,000.
The RAND study also estimated paying for the transition-related healthcare of transgender troops would cost between $2.4 million and $8.4 million each year, a less-than-1 percent increase in active-duty healthcare costs.
The Trump administration announced in March that it will follow through on the president’s controversial pledge to ban transgender troops from serving, but left many of the implementation details up to Mattis. The retired Marine general said in his recommendation to Trump that most transgender people who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria — including those who required medical treatment or surgery — will be disqualified to serve in the military.
But the AMA strongly disputes the rationale being used.
“We believe there is no medically valid reason — including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria — to exclude transgender individuals from military service,” it says. “Transgender individuals have served, and continue to serve, our country with honor, and we believe they should be allowed to continue doing so.”
Several federal courts have issued temporary injunctions, preventing the Trump administration from implementing the ban until the courts rule on whether it is unconstitutional to bar a group of people from serving based on their gender identity.
A week after a mysterious car crash killed at least six members of a Washington family, police say they have “reason to believe” the plunge off a California cliff was “intentional.”
Washington married couple Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, and at least three of their adopted children were found dead March 26 after their SUV plummeted down a 100-foot cliff on the Mendocino coast. Three other children were missing and believed dead.
The speedometer indicated the vehicle was traveling at 90 mph when it crashed, and there were no skid marks, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said at a news conference last week. No one was wearing a seatbelt.
Greg Baarts, acting assistant chief for the northern division of the California Highway Patrol, cautioned that the speedometer could have been affected by the crash, and the speed of the car hasn’t been conclusively determined.
“We do have reason to believe, however, that the crash was intentional,” Baarts told local NBC affiliate KGW8-TV Saturday. He did not elaborate. “This is all based on preliminary information,” he added.
A preliminary investigation indicates the crash was an “intentional act,” a CHP representative told Portland’s KOIN6-TV. Evidence shows the car came to a halt before the cliff, then sped for the edge, the station reported.
Police searched the Hart home in Woodland, Washington, on Thursday. The application for the search warrant said a felony had been committed, and Baarts confirmed to KGW8: “It is safe to report that a felony may have been committed in this case.” He offered no details.
Baarts said computers, bank records and credit card statements were removed from the family home. Chickens and a cat were also collected.
Allman said there was “every indication” all six of the couple’s children were in the car. The bodies of Markis, 19, and Jeremiah and Abigail, both 14, were recovered after the crash, along with the bodies of their parents.
Sierra, 12, Devonte, 15, and Hannah, 15, have not been found.
Courtesy Mendocino Sheriffs Office
This is the spot on the Mendocino coast where the Harts’ SUV plunged into the ocean.
There were recent indications of trouble with the family. Neighbors Bruce and Donna Dekalb told CBS News they called child protective services after Devonte Hart knocked on their door last month for food and told them that he was being “starved to death.” They also said a daughter, Hannah, came to them and asked not to be sent back home.
Washington state child protective services opened an investigation on March 23, the day the Dekalbs called the agency. Caseworkers said three attempts to contact the family since had failed.
Costa Rica’s governing party won a big presidential election victory Sunday as many voters rejected an evangelical pastor who had jumped into political prominence by campaigning against same-sex marriage.
The head of the Supreme Electoral Council, Luis Antonio Sobrado, said that with 95 percent of ballots counted Sunday night, Carlos Alvarado of the ruling Citizen Action Party had 60.8 percent of the votes in the runoff election. His opponent, Fabricio Alvarado of the National Restoration party, had 39.2 percent. The two men are not related.
Fabricio Alvarado rose from being a political unknown to the leading candidate in the election’s first round in February after he came out strongly against a call by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for Costa Rica to allow same-sex marriage. Carlos Alvarado, a novelist and former labor minister who finished second in February to get the final spot in the runoff, spoke in favor of letting gays wed.
Instantly recognisable with his pink hair and nose ring, Christopher Wylie claims to have helped create data analysis company Cambridge Analytica before turning whistleblower and becoming “the face” of the crisis engulfing Facebook.
Carole Cadwalladr, the Guardian journalist who worked with Wylie for a year on the story, described him as “clever, funny, bitchy, profound, intellectually ravenous, compelling. A master storyteller. A politicker. A data science nerd.”
The bespectacled 28-year-old describes himself as “the gay Canadian vegan who somehow ended up creating Steve Bannon’s psychological warfare tool,” referring to Trump’s former adviser, whom the report said had deep links with Cambridge Analytica (CA).
With Wylie’s help, Cadwalladr revealed how CA scooped up data from millions of Facebook users in the US.
They then used the information to build political and psychological profiles, in order to create targeted messages for voters.
Facebook insists it did not know the data taken from its site were being used, but the revelations have raised urgent questions over how data of 50 million users ended up in CA’s hands.
Shares of the tech giant have since tumbled, with $70 billion (56 billion euros) wiped off in 10 days.
Wylie studied law and then fashion, before entering the British political sphere when he landed a job working for the Liberal Democrats.
Former Lib Dem colleague Ben Rathe had a less complementary description of Wylie, tweeting that he “thinks he’s Edward Snowden, when he’s actually Walter Mitty” — a reference to a fictional character with a vivid fantasy life.
Wylie became a research director for Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), the parent company of CA, in 2014.
“I helped create that company,” he said of CA in an interview with several European newspapers.
“I got caught up in my own curiosity, in the work I was doing. It’s not an excuse, but I found myself doing the research work I wanted to do, with a budget of several million, it was really very tempting,” he told French daily Liberation.
Initially, he enjoyed the globetrotting lifestyle, meeting with ministers from around the world.
But the job took a dark turn when he discovered that his predecessor had died in a Kenyan hotel. He believes the victim paid the price when a “deal went sour”.
“People suspected poisoning,” he told a British parliamentary committee investigating “fake news” on Tuesday.
– ‘Repair Facebook!’ –
His appearance before MPs saw him swap his usual loud T-shirts for a sober suit and tie, producing hours of testimony against the firm that he left in 2014.
He said he eventually decided to speak out after US President Donald Trump’s shock election victory, which he partly attributed to the misuse of personal data for political purposes.
Cambridge Analytica vigorously denies the charges levelled against it, saying that Wylie was merely “a part-time employee who left his position in July 2014” and had no direct knowledge of how the firm had operated since.
Wylie urged British MPs to dig deeper into the story, insisting that his concern was not political and was focussed on abuses in the democratic process — including during the Brexit referendum campaign.
“I supported Leave, despite having pink hair and my nose ring,” he said.
He claimed that various pro-Brexit organisations worked together to get around campaign finance rules, using the services of Aggregate IQ, a Canadian company linked to the SCL group.
Wylie believes that it is “very reasonable” to say that CA’s activities may have swung the Brexit vote, although he stressed he was not anti-Facebook, anti-social media or anti-data.
“I don’t say ‘delete Facebook’, but ‘repair Facebook’,” he told the European newspapers.
However, he admitted to MPs that he had “become the face” of the scandal.
A prominent anti-trans activist has been suspended from Twitter after a series of ‘transphobic’ comments.
Venice Allan, a 43-year-old from South London, had gained notoriety for her anti-trans views on social media.
Allan has been a prominent figure in the backlash to streamlining the process of gender recognition for trans people and has been incredibly vocal with her anti-trans stance.
The meeting, called ‘Transgenderism and the War on Women’, was hosted in the House of Commons by the group ‘We Need to Talk UK’ and attended by a PinkNews journalist.
On March 22, it appeared that Allan’s Twitter account, with over 2500 followers, had been suspended.
The exact reason for Allan’s suspension is yet unknown, however, Twitter states that they suspend accounts for impersonation, spam, and abusive behaviour.
Twitter says: “we may suspend an account if it has been reported to us as violating our rules surrounding abuse.
“When an account engages in abusive behaviour, like sending threats to others or impersonating other accounts, we may suspend it temporarily or, in some cases, permanently.”
Many Twitter users sympathetic to Allan’s anti-trans point of view took to the micro-blogging site to show their support for the self-titled radical feminist.
(Photo: @jan_olier / Twitter)
“Without her, Twitter is a less safe space for women xx,” one wrote, referring to the ‘female’ sex chromosomes XX.
One wrote: “Her whole profile was a mass of bullying and transphobic posts.”
Labour party women’s officer Lily Madigan tweeted a celebratory gif after it was revealled that Allan had been suspended.
(Photo: @LilyMadigan / Twitter)
Earlier this year Allan was suspended from the Labour party over a series of memes on social media targeted at prominent transgender women.
Her social media feeds frequently feature transphobic memes and statements, which have included posts targeted at trans celebrities such as Paris Lees.
The Milwaukee Common Council Tuesday voted to ban a controversial therapy that aims to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, a practice known as “conversion therapy.”
Aldermen vote 12-2 in favor of the ban, with one abstention.
Supporters and opponents of the ban packed Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall, with opponents occasionally shouting “Amen!”
“This is real,” said Ald. Cavalier Johnson, the measure’s lead sponsor. “This affects real people.”
A Milwaukee council committee approved the measure earlier this month.
Opponents said Tuesday they didn’t have advance notice to gather opposition to the measure.
Johnson introduced the ordinance to ban the practice for anyone under 18. He called it a “proactive piece of legislation” to address the practice that is commonly tied to religious values.
He stressed Tuesday that it did not affect free therapy or counseling.
But Ald. Bob Donovan, who opposes the measure, said it was government overreach. He said supporters “did not make the case that this problem even exists in Milwaukee.”
Last year, state lawmakers proposed a bill to penalize mental health providers or counselors who performed conversion therapy, but it did not get a hearing or committee vote. Several other states and cities have passed similar bans.
Major medical and mental health organizations have condemned conversion therapy, said Tony Snell, a member of the city’s Equal Rights Commission.
A 2009 American Psychological Association report concluded such practices can pose critical health risks to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths, including depression, substance abuse, stress and suicidal thoughts.
A 2015 federal report found no existing research that such practices can change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation and instead found those practices often are “coercive, can be harmful and should not be part of behavioral health treatment.”
The city proposal went before the council’s Public Safety and Health Committee where aldermen heard support for the ban from LGBTQ advocates and mental health experts from Alverno College and Mount Mary University.
Natalie Zanoni, director of client and program services at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, read a statement from a 29-year-old graduate student in Milwaukee who experienced conversation therapy.
The student came out as gay to his parents at age 16 and a youth pastor suggested Exodus International, a national conversion therapy nonprofit that has since been shut down.
“But what is worst of all is the emotional and spiritual damage it caused, the deep-rooted shame that came along with attempting to change my orientation,” he wrote.
Several council members asked about the prevalence of conversion therapy practices in Milwaukee.
Snell said they are present in the metro area but said it’s difficult to quantify.
“A lot of these folks who have gone through this are living in the shadows,” he said, later adding, “I think we need to send the message proactively and say this won’t be tolerated here in the city of Milwaukee.”
The committee previously voted 2 to 0 to approve the measure. Ald. Chantia Lewis and Ald. Jose Perez offered strong support, each signing on as co-sponsors and voting in favor of it. Ald. Mark Borkowski and Ald. Bob Donovan abstained from voting at the committee level.
The proposed ban carries a fine between $500 to $1,000 for each violation. The Milwaukee Police Department would have the power to enforce the ordinance, if it’s approved.
Parkland survivor Emma Gonzalez, the bisexual president of Stoneman Douglas High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance, has spoken out about the way her sexuality fuels her activism.
Together with fellow students like David Hogg and Cameron Kasky, the 18-year-old has prompted a tidal wave of public sentiment in favour of better gun regulation following the shooting in Florida.
She has been at the forefront of the #NeverAgain movement since her impassioned speech at a rally last month in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when she emotively repeated the phrase “We call BS” about NRA-funded politicians, gun advocates and those who don’t believe the Parkland teenagers know enough to speak up.
(Getty)
At the March For Our Lives rally in Washington DC, she made an emotional speech which left her and many of the hundreds of thousands of protesters in tears.
And speaking to Yahoo, she said that being open with her bisexuality meant she was able to speak out in this powerful way as one of the leaders of the Never Again MSD movement.
“They’re definitely linked for me personally,” she said. “If I wasn’t so open about who I was I never would’ve been able to do this.
“In ninth grade,” she recalled, “I was in a creative writing class where I could actually really effectively communicate what I was feeling, and it especially helped me come to terms with who I was.
“That definitely was when I really understood who I am, and when I came to terms with it, and when I told most people.”
This experience, she explained, “helped me understand that everybody, no matter who they are and what they look like, is going through a lot of different things.”
She has become an icon (Getty)
Gonzalez’s position as head of her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance has also been a crucial part of making her the activist she is today, she said.
“It’s really helped me get used to shifting plans very quickly, planning in advance, and also being flexible… understanding that maybe you organise a club meeting with this one person in mind and they just don’t come because they aren’t coming to school, and you can’t get upset,” she said.
“Because most of the kids in GSA either have depression or they’re dealing with a lot of stuff at home, and it’s like, I can understand that.
(Getty)
“And there are so many people in the country who are dealing with that, in relation to gun violence. You have no idea.
“You don’t know how many people you talk to on a daily basis that have actually been shot before, or have lost someone through gun violence.
“With GSA it’s the same. Everything’s incredibly far-reaching and widespread,” added the teenager.
(Getty)
During her speech at yesterday’s rally, Gonzalez showed exactly how inspiring she could be.
“Six minutes and about 20 seconds,” she told the crowd. “In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured and everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered.
“Everyone who was there understands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands. For us, long, tearful, chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing.
“No one understood the extent of what had happened.”
Gonzalez listed off the names of those who died in the mass shooting last month with actions – like joking, smiling and playing basketball – that the young victims “would never” do again.
Apart from sporadic shouting and chanting, the immense number of protesters did the same, staying quiet.
When she broke the silence, Gonzalez told the crowd: “Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting, and will soon abandon his rifle”.
She ended the speech with the message: “Fight for your lives, before it’s someone else’s job.”
The US Conference Of Catholic Bishops has thrown its support behind a proposed federal law explicitly permitting anti-gay marriage discrimination.
Earlier this month a group of 22 Republican Senators reintroduced the First Amendment Defense Act, a bill that would block the federal government from enforcing anti-discrimination protections or civil rights laws in cases where people acted based on “a sincerely held religious belief” in marriage.
The bill, spearheaded by Senator Mike Lee, is co-sponsored by some of the most outspoken foes of LGBT rights in the Senate, including Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
As written, the bill states: “The Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as a union of one man and one woman”.
It has today earned backing from the Catholic Church’s most powerful US body, the United States Conference Of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which gave its full-throated backing to the law.
The USCCB said: “We welcome and applaud the recent reintroduction of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA). The USCCB has been vocal in support of the legislation since its inception.
“FADA is a modest and important measure that protects the rights of faith-based organizations and people of all faiths and of no faith who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.
“For example, in a pluralistic society, faith-based charitable agencies and schools should not be excluded from participation in public life by loss of licenses, accreditation, or tax-exempt status because they hold reasonable views on marriage that differ from the federal government’s view.
“The leadership of the Catholic Church will continue to promote and protect the natural truth of marriage as foundational to the common good.
“The Church will also continue to stand for the ability of all to exercise their religious beliefs and moral convictions in public life without fear of government discrimination. We are pleased to support the First Amendment Defense Act, and we urge Congress to pass this important legislation.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD: “America was founded on the freedom of religion and this shared value continues to be critical to our nation’s success, but it does not give people the right to impose their beliefs on others, to harm others, or to discriminate.
“While President Trump and the Senate Republicans behind this bill are pushing for discriminatory legislation, the LGBTQ community will not be silent and continue to protect the hardworking LGBTQ American families who would be placed in direct harm by this unjust bill.”
The Human Rights Campaign warns: “FADA would undermine core civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.
“This bill would undermine the government’s ability to enforce the federal protections that exist to protect LGBTQ people and their families.
“Under FADA, individuals, many businesses, and non-profit organizations—even those using taxpayer dollars contracting with the federal government—could openly violate non-discrimination policies or refuse to serve same-sex couples. As long as they claimed their actions are based on their belief about marriage, the government would have little recourse. “
At the time, he said in a statement: “Religious liberty is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
“It is our first liberty and provides the most important protection in that it protects our right of conscience. Activist judges and executive orders issued by Presidents who have no regard for the Constitution have put these protections in jeopardy.
“If I am elected president and Congress passes the First Amendment Defense Act, I will sign it to protect the deeply held religious beliefs of Catholics and the beliefs of Americans of all faiths.”
Trump’s pledge is believed to have been orchestrated by Vice President Mike Pence, who previously supported the discriminatory law himself and signed similar legislation while Governor of Indiana.
Senator Lee claims: “Without FADA, federal bureaucrats are free to punish individuals or institutions that have a different definition of marriage than they do.
“Just as Congress protected people from being punished for declining to participate in abortions after Roe v Wade, the First Amendment Defense Act prevents people from being punished for their beliefs about marriage.”
Lee continues to claim that FADA “does not alter public accommodations law” to allow anti-LGBT discrimination, despite the bill blocking the government from enforcing anti-discrimination protections.
He also adds that the bill is not homophobic because it also applies to people who support gay marriage.
The Senator, who has a lengthy anti-LGBT voting record, claims: “All Federal definitions of marriage are protected under FADA. FADA would protect a liberal institution that promoted gay marriage, just as it would protect a conservative institution that wanted to promote traditional marriage.”
Theresa May has refused to condemn Downing Street staff who allegedly outed a whistleblower as gay – putting his Pakistani family in danger.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s special adviser Stephen Parkinson came under fire over the weekend after he put out a statement via Downing Street revealing the sexuality of former Brexit campaigner Shahmir Sanni, who had come forward to expose alleged irregularities in the Vote Leave campaign.
Mr Sanni, who volunteered for the supposedly-independent BeLeave group, named Mr Parkinson as one of the Vote Leave officials who secretly guided their campaign in violation of electoral rules.
In his official statement released via Downing Street’s press office, Mr Parkinson hit back by revealing that he had been in a relationship with Mr Sanni at the time, claiming he had only provided advice to him as his boyfriend.
Shahmir Sanni and Stephen Parkinson
Mr Sanni says the public revelation has forced him to come out to his family in Pakistan, where homosexuality is illegal and strongly taboo – and has left his relatives living in fear of their safety.
Pressed over the issue in Parliament today, Theresa May failed to condemn Mr Parkinson’s actions, and claimed the message circulated by Downing Street was actually a “personal statement” from the adviser – drawing cries of “disgrace” from Labour MPs.
Responding to a question from Labour’s Ben Bradshaw, she said: “Any statements issued were personal statements… they were personal statements… they were personal statements that were issued.
“I of course recognise the importance of ensuring that we do recognise that for some, being outed as gay is difficult because of their family and circumstances. What I want to see is a world where everyone is able to be confident in their sexuality and doesn’t have to worry about such things.”
MPs heckled the PM repeatedly as she claimed the message was “personal”, pointing out that it had been sent via email by Kirsty Buchanan, Downing Street’s Head of Broadcast media, from an official Downing Street email address.
There was no suggestion on the email that it was not an official communication from Downing Street’s press office.
Mr Bradshaw said: “How is it remotely acceptable that when a young whistleblower exposes compelling evidence of lawbreaking by the Leave campaign, implicating staff at Number 10, one of those named issued an officially-sanctioned statement outing the whistleblower as gay and putting his family in Pakistan in danger?
“It’s a disgrace, Prime Minister, you need to do something about it.”
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LGBT rights organisation Stonewall has branded the breach of privacy “inexcusable” and dangerous.
It said: “This public disclosure of Sanni’s sexuality was made without his consent. The severity of this breach of confidence cannot be underestimated.
“Telling someone about your sexuality or gender identity must always be a personal decision. No person has the right to take that decision away.
“Publicly outing someone robs that person of the chance to define who they are in their own terms if they even want to. In extreme cases – as in this one – it can also put the lives of that person and their loved ones in danger.
“Outing someone ignores the many valid reasons a person may have for not choosing to be open about their sexuality to every person in their life. Concerns about personal safety to fears about discrimination at work or in their place of worship all play a part in someone’s decision to come out.
“Some LGBT people are not out because of a real need to protect themselves. We do not live in a world that is accepting of everyone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Not only does the world still have a long way to go, so does Britain, as this irresponsible indiscretion shows.”
It added: “What has happened to Shahmir Sanni is inexcusable. Outing someone can put lives at risk. We will always stand with and support all LGBT people, whether they are out or not.
“No LGBT person should ever have to live in fear that someone might tell the world about their sexuality or gender identity before they are ready. Only that person will know if they are comfortable and ready to come out.
“That choice and decision must always be respected.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Mr Sanni’s fellow whistleblower Chris Wylie called for Parkinson, who is Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, to resign.
Mr Wylie said: “Absolutely he should resign. He should resign for his actions in outing someone and endangering his family, and also for the fact he worked on a programme that resulted in cheating in the referendum.”
He added: “The Prime Minister’s office outed my friend. Number 10 Downing Street labelled ‘official statement’ to journalists around the world outing Shahmir Sanni, whose family in Pakistan had to take security measures for their own safety.
“He was forced to come out to his mum in the middle of the night because Downing Street decided it was appropriate for the government to out someone.”
In his statement, Mr Parkinson had said: “Shahmir became an occasional volunteer for Vote Leave and other Leave campaigns, and we began a personal relationship.
“We subsequently dated for 18 months, splitting up — I thought amicably — in September 2017.
“That is the capacity in which I gave Shahmir advice and encouragement, and I can understand if the lines became blurred for him, but I am clear that I did not direct the activities of any separate campaign groups.”
Mr Sanni responded via an outraged statement through his solicitors.
He said: “It’s sad that Stephen feels he can’t tell the truth about cheating in the Referendum.
“I think he understands why I had to do the right thing and let people know what really happened.
“But I never imagined that he, with the help of Number 10, would choose to tell the world I am gay, in a last desperate attempt to scare me.”
He added: “This is something I’ve never told most of my friends or family, here or in Pakistan, some of whom are having to take measures to ensure their safety.
“He knew the danger it would cause, and that’s why he did it.
“My coming out should have happened at a moment of my choosing – not his or the Government’s.
“Some things are more important than politics and I hope that one day he agrees.”
In a subsequent statement, Mr Parkinson said: “I have seen the statements issued by Shahmir and his lawyers, and am saddened by them.
“They are factually incorrect and misleading.
“My statement to Channel 4 News and The Observer was issued in my personal capacity and was solely a response to the serious and untrue allegations made against me by Shahmir, Chris Wylie, and others.
“It would be surprising if Shahmir, Mr Wylie, or those advising them thought I would be able to defend myself against those allegations without revealing my relationship with Shahmir. Sadly, the allegations they have chosen to make are so serious that I have been compelled to do so.
“I cannot see how our relationship, which was ongoing at the time of the referendum and which is a material fact in the allegations being made, could have remained private once Shahmir decided to publicise his false claims in this way.”
Despite Mr Parkinson claiming his statement was issued in a “personal capacity”, several journalists have come forward with proof that the statement ‘outing’ Mr Sanni was directly released via the Downing Street press office.
Guardian writer Carole Cadwalladr shared a screenshot which shows the statement was sent via email by Kirsty Buchanan, Downing Street’s Head of Broadcast media, from an official Downing Street email address.
She wrote: “This is absolutely indefensible. Number 10’s press office outed a 24-year-old man against his will. Think about it. This was sanctioned and approved by Theresa May’s government.”
President Trump’s opposition to trans people serving in the military has sparked protests
A US judge ruling on President Trump’s trans military ban has likened the policy to the discrimination of black people in the armed forces.
Marsha J Pechman, a federal judge in Seattle, is hearing a challenge aimed at blocking the effort to exclude trans people from serving.
This week, in comments reported by Bloomberg, she compared the policy to the historical exclusion of blacks from the military and the ban on mixed units. She said it had been an “error” that the courts signed off on those past decisions.
The judge is being urged to rule that Trump’s controversial policy is unconstitutional.
American LGBT advocates the Human Rights Campaign and the state of Washington argue the government has failed to demonstrate that allowing trans people to serve would damage military readiness or unit cohesion.
Last week, the White House announced it was seeking to formally ban such individuals “except under certain limited circumstances”.
It came after Trump stated last summer that he would ban trans people from serving in the military “in any capacity”.
At the time, the president said that the armed forces “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption”.
However, his claims have been roundly criticised, including in a letter signed by 56 retired admirals and generals who said the discriminatory policy would harm morale and downgrade military readiness.
Critics have also argued it will force trans members to hide their identities while depriving the military of talent as well as reinforcing harmful and inaccurate stereotypes.
Judge Pechman is expected to make her decision next month, after receiving more information on the proposed ban from the government.
Trump’s policy would overturn a decision made by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2016 which lifted a ban on trans people serving openly in the military.
