Kirsten Gillibrand invites transgender military member to SOTU

Grace Carr, DCNF

DES MOINES, IA - JANUARY 19: U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks to a large crowd at the state capitol for the third annual Women's March on January 19, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. Demonstrations are slated to take place in cities across the country in the third annual event aimed to highlight social change and celebrate women's rights around the world. (Photo by Steve Pope/Getty Images) — (Photo by Steve Pope/Getty Images)

Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand invited a transgender soldier to Tuesday’s State of the Union address in a display of resistance against the president’s ban on transgender service members.

Lt. Commander Blake Dremann will accompany Gillibrand to President Donald Trump’s address following a court ruling permitting the president to temporarily enforce his ban on transgender individuals in the military.

Patriots like Lt. Commander Blake Dremann—the first openly transgender servicemember to be promoted in our military's history, and the president of @sparta_pride—make our armed forces and our country stronger. I’m honored he’ll be joining me at the State of the Union. pic.twitter.com/hzjIiMll5U

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) February 4, 2019

“Any transgender American who meets the standards should be able to sign up to join our Armed Forces, and that’s why I’m going to introduce new legislation this week to protect current and future transgender service members,” Gillibrand said in a statement, Vox reported Monday.

“I am proud to lead this fight and I urge all of my Senate colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation,” Gillibrand added.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 22 to allow Trump to temporarily enforce restrictions banning transgender persons from serving in the nation’s armed forces. The decision to temporarily allow enforcement of the president’s ban comes after Trump first announced the ban via Twitter in July 2017.

There are somewhere between 1,000 and 8,000 transgender individuals serving in the military, according to estimates.

Gillibrand is seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. She announced her run for office on Jan. 15.

The senator has faced criticism and lost numerous large Democratic donors following her vilification of former Sen. Al Franken over allegations of sexual assault. Franken was a leading member in the resistance against Trump.

Trump will give his State of the Union address Tuesday.

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