December 29, 2020 – President-elect Joseph Biden has promised to reverse the military’s ban on service by transgender Americans on “day one” of his presidency. Research recently released by the Palm Center explains why lifting the ban is an urgent priority for military readiness, and how it can be done in under thirty days. This […]
The Palm Center
Posted inOp-Ed
Aaron Belkin: Mattis divided his own military force by cowing to Trump’s call to ban transgender troops
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Aug. 29, 2019 – Palm Center director Aaron Belkin released the following statement today reacting to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s stated concern about America’s “internal divisiveness”: Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will be remembered not for combating divisiveness but for sowing it through the policy banning transgender military service that bears his name. […]
Posted inUS
Palm Center Responds to Trump’s Transgender Military Comments in Good Morning Britain Interview
San Francisco, CA June 5, 2019 – Palm Center Director Aaron Belkin released the following statement in response to President Trump’s comments defending his transgender military ban during an interview this morning on Good Morning Britain. “President Trump’s factually incorrect defense of his transgender military ban during an interview with Piers Morgan’s Good Morning Britain shows ignorance about the realities of […]
Posted inUS
Military Policy Researchers Raise Alarms as Transgender Troops Face Expulsion
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, April 9, 2019 – The Pentagon plans to reinstate a ban on military service by transgender Americans this week, raising concerns by LGBTQ and national security researchers that politics is trumping both military readiness and equal treatment of service members. A new memo just released by the Palm Center concisely explains exactly how […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Aaron Belkin: Pentagon to Reinstate ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ for Transgender Troops
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 13, 2019 – The Palm Center released the following statement by director Aaron Belkin in reaction to today’s Defense Department release of a new memo outlining its transgender service ban (the Pentagon currently remains under court order to explain its authority to implement the ban before all preliminary injunctions have been lifted): […]
Posted inUS
Four Retired General and Flag Officers Identify Significant Error in D.C. Appeals Court Ruling on Transgender Troops
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Jan. 8, 2019 – In anticipation of the Supreme Court’s deliberations on President Trump’s transgender military ban this Friday, the Palm Center today released the following statement by three retired Army generals and one retired Navy admiral who identified a significant error in last week’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals […]
Posted inUS
56 Retired Generals and Admirals Warn Trump’s Anti-Transgender Tweets, If Implemented, Would Degrade Military Readiness
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Aug. 1, 2017 – Fifty-six retired General and Flag Officers provided the following statement to the Palm Center today: “The Commander in Chief has tweeted a total ban of honorably serving transgender troops. This proposed ban, if implemented, would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent, and compromise the integrity […]