There is outrage across the country as the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban to go into effect.
Here in the Borderland, there is concern from transgender military service members from Fort Bliss who are left wondering what this could mean for their military careers.
“There’s a lot of fear, anger and many different emotions that these people are experiencing because things aren’t really clear right now,” said Victoria Doster with the Borderland Rainbow Center.
Doster is an intern at the Borderland Rainbow Center, a non-profit that provides support services for the LGBTQI community in El Paso.
She’s also transitioning out of the military and has seen firsthand how this ban is impacting soldiers.
“You do have the other part of people who are not accepting,” Doster said.
She says because of the treatment they’re getting and the uncertainty they’re facing, service members from Fort Bliss are seeking the center’s help.
“On Sunday’s, we also provide an adult transgender group, which there’s a pretty large presence of active duty military folks who attend that,” Doster said.
The ban is now in the hands of the lower courts that work through the legality of it.
The Borderland Rainbow Center says it’s working with attorneys to make sure they keep up to date with any changes.
Doster says she’s counting on the ban to be overturned so that any man or woman willing to serve our country can.
“At the end of the day, we’re all humans,” she said. “A human is a human is a human and a soldier is a soldier is a soldier.”
