A rainbow flag is placed in the ground for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month during the Picnic in the Park at Nussbaumer Park, June 27, 2015, in Fairbanks, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Ashley Nicole Taylor)
Two weeks in, five defying states.
Nevada, Washington, Oregon and New Mexico have joined California in defying the Trump administration ban on transgender military, which went into effect April 12.
AUSTIN — A freshman at the University of Texas at Austin says he has lost his military scholarship because he is transgender man.
Map Pesqueira, a 19-year-old from San Antonio, said he was awarded a three-year Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or ROTC, scholarship beginning his sophomore year. But his financial aid is now invalid, he told The Dallas Morning News, under the federal government's new policy that bans many transgender troops from enlisting in the military.
"I was told that my scholarship is void," said Pesqueira, whose story was first reported in The Daily Texan. He added that it was important to tell "the story of ROTC cadets who are relying on a ROTC scholarship to fund their education.
Sailors man the rails aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) as the ship arrives in Subic Bay, Philippines in support of Exercise Balikatan. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Galbreath))
For transgender people in the U.S. military, April is shaping up to be a bittersweet month. But mostly bitter.
Just a few days before the implementation of President Trump's ban on transgender troops, a clarification from the Navy on the dress code of sailors could be perceived as a consolation prize, but it might feel like a slap in the face.
Alexandra Marberry, after graduating from the Naval Academy, became one of the nation's first transgender women allowed to transition while serving in the military.
More than two years later, Marberry is fighting the Navy to clear her record of sexual misconduct she maintains she did not commit. She believes she was targeted for being transgender.
Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, 330th MP Company, California National Guard, patrol along side a group of school children during a dismounted patrol through the city of Khost in the Khost province of Afghanistan. (California National Guard/Spc. Joseph Samudio)
One of the highest-ranking officers in the California National Guard told lawmakers on Tuesday that the state is not removing transgender soldiers and airmen from its ranks despite efforts by the Trump administration to bar transgender people from the U.S. military.
"As long as you fight, we don't care what gender you identify as," said Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, the assistant adjutant general for the California National Guard.
This 2017 photo provided by Lambda Legal in January 2019 shows Megan Winters at Joint Base Anacostia-Billing in Washington. She is a plaintiff in the Lambda-Outserve lawsuit who has served in the U.S. Navy almost six years. (Associated Press/Lambda Legal)
Editor's Note: This article by Hope Hodge Seck originally appeared onMilitary.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
Days after the Supreme Court backed a Pentagon ban on transgender troops serving openly, an active-duty transgender sailor will appear as a guest of honor at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C.
