California National Guard Will Not Discharge Transgender Service Members

According to one of the highest-ranking officers in the California National Guard, Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, California will defy Trump’s wishes and not discharge transgender service members from the troops.

The Advocate reported that Beevers spoke to the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee about the decision.

“As long as you fight, we don’t care what gender you identify as,” he said. “Nobody’s going to kick you out.”

This comes only a month after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s transgender military ban can proceed until lower courts make a decision about its legality. Beevers said that, despite the ruling, he believes “the ban will be lifted again.”

While the state’s National Guard, according to Beevers, doesn’t track its number of transgender soldiers, the National Center for Transgender Equality has estimated that 17,763 transgender service members could face dismissal nationwide.

Equality California, an LGBTQ organization who’s suing the president over the ban, showed their support of the California National Guard’s decision.

“What the California National Guard said, and what we’ve said in our lawsuit, is that the military ought to treat them just like every other service member,” said Samuel Garrett-Pate, communications director of Equality California. “California will always champion the values of freedom, equality, and fairness – even when the president fails to.”