Members of several LGBTQ advocacy groups joined Assemblymember Chris Ward on Friday in a rally supporting a bill he said would help the state assist California veterans affected by an anti-trans policy from President Donald Trump’s administration.
“There is no credible evidence that transgender servicemembers undermine military readiness or unit cohesion,” the San Diego Democrat said in criticizing Executive Order 14183, which bars transgender Americans from serving. “Rather, they have served honorably across every branch of the armed forces.”
Ward’s measure, AB 1775, which passed in the Assembly last week, seeks to counter the effects of Trump’s order by allowing veterans discharged because of their gender identity to receive expedited transition services into civilian life, alongside veterans discharged because of other factors like injury, trauma or sexual harassment.
The rally was held days after a federal appeals court determined that the order was likely to be unconstitutional and “driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.” However, the U.S. Supreme Court had previously allowed the Pentagon to maintain the ban while the legal fight continued.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has already vowed to appeal the ruling to the high court.
“We are on the front lines of that impact,” said David Vance, director of advocacy and civic engagement for the San Diego LGBT Community Center, which hosted the rally. They and other speakers argued that 40% of veterans affected by the administration’s order reside in San Diego.
“These are our neighbors, people who have already sacrificed in service to this country and are now being asked to navigate an unjust transition to civilian life,” they said.
Ward said that he is hoping that if the bill passes the state Senate and becomes law, the state can provide around $2 million in funding to cover the cost of housing assistance, employment training, and shortened wait times for the estimated 4,200 veterans affected by the order in dealing with assistance from state agencies.
He said that the bill will be taken up in committee in the state Senate next month.
A note on the bill, which passed the Assembly 64-1 – the vote did not fall along strict party lines; a handful of Republicans offered their support. Fifteen others – including some Democrats – did not record votes.
The lone no vote came from local Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio.
Joining Ward in pushing for the bill’s advancement were members of advocacy groups like Equality California and groups specifically helping LGBTQ veterans like the Minority Veterans of America, Out in National Service and SPARTA Pride, whose executive director Kara Corcoran alluded to Hegseth reportedly stopping promotion procedure for naval officers who are not white cis-gender males.
“It’s an attack on Americans. It’s an attack on Californians. That’s the key thing to understand,” said Corcoran, who said she was “awaiting her fate” after falling under the order’s “involuntary separation” policy last year despite her 18 years of Army service.
“The truth and reality is that you have servicemembers across this nation – thousands of them – who have the character, competency and commitment to serve this country,” she said. “This bill is a reflection upon which the rest of this nation has to follow.”
