It’s been about a month since President Donald Trump sent a series of early-morning tweets promising to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. Military. While it was reported on Thursday that the Pentagon would soon offer directives about how exactly it would be implemented, critics of the ban are still out and ready to fight.
One such critic? Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois and a U.S. Army veteran. Known for her candid nature, Duckworth is certainly not backing down on her views about trans people in the military. On Thursday night, recounting the story of the helicopter crash where she lost both of her legs while serving in Iraq, she tweeted about how essential all service members are to the military — especially for people who are actually on the ground.
“When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didn’t care if the American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown. All that mattered was they didn’t leave me behind,” Duckworth said in her statement. “If you are willing to risk your life for our country, and you can do the job you should be able to serve — no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation.”
When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk, I didn’t care if the troops saving me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown pic.twitter.com/FTzjHpZuuH
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) August 24, 2017
Since the announcement of Trump’s ban, Duckworth has been a vocal opponent and has looked to gain bipartisan support against it.
At the end of her most recent statement, she once again urged her colleagues to fight back against the ban: “Anything else is not just discriminatory, it is disruptive to our military, and it is counterproductive to our national security,” Duckworth said. “If the President enacts this ban, which would harm our military readiness, the Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who oppose this discrimination must enact legislation that prevents it from taking effect.”