Military’s LGBTQ community is ‘under attack,’ top officials say
politico.comLGBTQ rights increasingly are a hot-button political issue across the country. A surge of state legislation related to the LGBTQ community has passed this year, aimed primarily at regulating curriculum in public schools — such as Florida’s bill that opponents labeled “Don’t Say Gay” — and restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. | Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images By Lara Seligman 06/07/2023 01:27 PM EDT Link CopiedSenior Defense Department leaders used an event celebrating Pride Month at the Pentagon on Wednesday to sound the alarm about the rising number of state laws they say target the LGBTQ community, warning the trend is hurting the armed forces.“LGBTQ plus and other diverse communities are under attack, just because they are different.
Hate for hate’s sake,” said Gil Cisneros, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness, who also serves as DoD’s chief diversity and inclusion officer.Another senior official, Space Force Chief Operating Officer Lt.
Gen. DeAnna Burt, specifically referenced “more than 400 anti-LGBTQ-plus laws that have been introduced at the state level” since January.“That number is rising and demonstrates a trend that could be dangerous for service members, their families and the readiness of the force as a whole,” Burt said during the event.
