WASHINGTON—Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, called upon members of the House of Representatives to reject extremist attempts to attach anti-LGBTQ+ amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is a yearly defense bill that provides critical funding for national defense and has a long tradition of bipartisan support. House Republican leadership has abandoned bipartisanship to instead cave to the demands of a small group of right-wing extremists to allow votes on a number of controversial amendments, including attacks on LGBTQ+ service members and their families. The amendments slated to receive votes are expected to include a ban on best-practice, medically-necessary gender affirming care for service members and their families. Gender affirming care is supported by every major medical association, like the American Medical Association (AMA), which collectively represents millions of American doctors.
“House Republicans have a choice this week. They can reject these politicized amendments that single out transgender service members and their families or they can embrace the anti-LGBTQ+ extremists in the House of Representatives,” said David Stacy, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Human Rights Campaign. “We call on the House to reject these cynical and cruel attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, which fly in the face of overwhelming evidence and are being used as a political weapon. Injecting their self-ignited culture war into this national defense bill is a recipe for disaster.”
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.