President Obama appears open to the idea of allowing transgender Americans to serve openly in the military, according to the White House.
During the news briefing today, Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained that President Obama agreed with newly sworn in Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who suggested that he was “open-minded” about the idea.
“I can tell you that the president agrees with the sentiment that all Americans who are qualified to serve should be able to serve and for that reason, we here at the White House welcome the comments from the Secretary of Defense,” Earnest said.
Earnest, however, referred any questions about future steps to implement such a policy to the Secretary of Defense.
Carter made his remarks while visiting soldiers in Kandahar, Afghanistan over the weekend.
“I’m very open-minded about – otherwise about what their personal lives and proclivities are, provided they can do what we need them to do for us. That’s the important criteria. Are they going to be excellent service members?” he said.
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