Family Research Council Criticizes Pentagon for Transgender Policy Change

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Jun 30, 2016, 03:25 ET

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council (FRC) today criticized President Obama and the Department of Defense for lifting the longstanding ban on military service by persons who identify as transgender.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following comments:

"This is yet another example of President Obama using America's military to fight culture wars instead of to fight real wars against the enemies of our nation. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that 'the only military matter . . . about which I ever sensed deep passion on [President Obama's] part was 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Now Mr. Obama has only added to his legacy of misplaced priorities with regard to our country's defense," Perkins concluded.

FRC's Executive Vice President, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, added:

"Considering the abysmal condition of our military and a decline in readiness, why is this a top priority for the Obama administration? Before changing any policy, the impact on military readiness has to be the first consideration. Defense Secretary Carter has failed to explain how this new policy makes our military more capable of winning wars.

"This has everything to do with President Obama's social agenda for the military, but it has nothing to do with enhancing military readiness. No new science has led to the Pentagon's transgender study—only the politics of the Obama administration and the transgender movement," concluded Boykin.

Read FRC's publication: "Should Individuals Who Identify as Transgender Be Permitted to Serve in the Military?"

http://www.frc.org/transgenderinthemilitary

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SOURCE Family Research Council