U.S. Capitol. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A letter written by 16 LGBTQ+ organizations in Central Florida and Tampa Bay condemning the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025 was sent Dec. 21 to six of Florida’s Democratic Congressional members who voted for the bill.
The NDAA, which includes an anti-transgender rider prohibiting the children of U.S. servicemembers from accessing gender-affirming health care under the military’s health plan TRICARE, passed the U.S. House Dec. 11 by a vote of 281-140. The 281 yes votes included those of Florida’s U.S. Reps. Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel, Sheila Cherlus-McCormick, Jared Moskowitz and Frederica Wilson.
“Aside from betraying the principles of equality and inclusion that you have avowed in the past, your support of this legislation jeopardizes the availability of medically necessary care for thousands of servicemembers and their families,” the letter states. “We cannot sugarcoat the reality that your vote helped pass the first anti-LGBTQ+ federal statute in years to harm a community that needs your leadership and advocacy now more than ever.”
The letter is signed by GLSEN in Central Florida, Collier County and Tampa Bay; PFLAG in Greater Orlando and DeLand; Come Out With Pride as well as Pride’s Trans & Non-Binary Task Force; Zebra Youth; the LGBT+ Center Orlando; both Moms and Dads for Hope; The Umbrella Brigade; SPEKTRUM Health; RISE Initiative; Ashley Marie Figueroa with the Gender Advancement Project; and trans rights activist Andrea Montanez.
The letter highlights the unique challenges transgender children in military families already face such as frequent
relocations, inconsistent access to affirming health care and the common stresses of military life.
“[P]olicies that strip transgender youth of medically recommended care only compound these difficulties, creating extra barriers to their stability and well-being,” the organizations write.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly insisted on amending the NDAA to add the anti-trans policy after a final version of the bill had already been negotiated by the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The bill went on to pass the U.S. Senate by a vote of 85-14 on Dec. 18.
The $895 billion defense budget bill now heads to President Joe Biden which he is expected to sign.
You can read the letter in its entirety here.
