Transgender people may soon be allowed to openly serve in the US military

Defence Secretary Ash Carter said transgender people should be allowed to serve

The US government appears to be inching closer to allowing transgender people to openly serve in the US military, as US Defence Secretary Ash Carter spoke on the issue in Afghanistan over the weekend.

Mr Carter – who was sworn in as Defence Secretary last week – said that transgender people should be allowed to openly serve as long as they are able to do so, the Wall Street Journal reported.

More than 15,000 transgender people secretly serve in the US military, according to an estimate from the Palm Centre, a group that supports striking the ban.

On Monday, the White House stood behind Mr Carter’s statement on transgender people serving in the military.

“I can tell you that the president agrees with the sentiment that all Americans who are qualified to serve should be able to serve,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. “And for that reason, we here at the White House welcome the comments from the secretary of defence.”

Transgender is a broad term that refers to people whose gender identity is different than their sex at birth. The US military restricts transgender people from openly serving under its ban on people with certain behavioural and psychological conditions.

But the recent statements by Mr Carter and the White House indicate shifting sentiment on the issue.

“I’m very open-minded about…what their personal lives and proclivities are, provided they can do what we need them to do for us,” Mr Carter said. “That’s the important criteria. Are they going to be excellent service members?”

President Barack Obama already has brought progression to the US military, as he signed a bill in 2010 that repealed the infamous don’t-ask, don’t-tell law that banned openly gay people from serving.

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