Political Quotes

“The ignorance contained in these comments is really breathtaking. Transgender people who have normal, regular healthcare are no more likely to commit suicide than anybody else. Basically, the statistics he is showing say once somebody identifies as having a problem, they are more likely to have a problem. I mean, that would be like saying, we have identified that servicemembers who complain of PTSD symptoms are more likely to commit suicide. The point is to get proper care for transgender people, and you won't have these issues. It is the ignorance that has prevented them from getting that proper care. By the way, the overwhelming majority of transgender people don't need any of this any more than any of us do, but when they need it, they need it, just like when anybody else does. To Ms. Jacobs' point, we need to recruit people. Being bigoted against transgender people takes a huge population out of the recruitment. This is a very simple, easy thing to do and deal with. Again, I really want to emphasize not every transgender person needs this care. If you have a problem, yes, you are more likely to have a problem, but that is true of anybody regardless of your gender. We need transgender people to serve in the military. This amendment will make that more difficult and should be defeated.”