Family Research Council Urges Pentagon to Focus on Readiness, Not a Transgender Policy

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Jul 13, 2015, 06:42 ET

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council (FRC) today urged that the Pentagon maintain the long standing policy that excludes persons with what the American Psychological Association calls "gender dysphoria" from the military. The statement came in response to media reports that the Pentagon, under pressure from the White House, will soon announce a study of the possibility of allowing openly transgender troops.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, Family Research Council's Executive Vice President, released the following statement:

"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. The Pentagon must answer whether this proposed policy makes our military more capable of performing its mission. The answer is a very clear and resounding no.

"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.

"Allowing the Obama administration to use the military as a tool of social re-engineering will only undermine morale, unit cohesion, and readiness. It's time that we allow the military to focus on its only job—defending our country against its enemies," concluded Boykin.

Family Research Council recently released a major Issue Analysis, "Understanding and Responding to the Transgender Movement"—available online at: http://www.frc.org/transgender.

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SOURCE Family Research Council