WASHINGTON, DC — The American Military Partner Association ( AMPA ), the nation's premier organization for LGBT military spouses and their families, released the following statement today in response to the signing of the new Human Goals Charter by Department of Defense officials. For the first time, sexual orientation was included with the goal to make military service in the Department of Defense a model of equal opportunity. The 2014 Human Goals Charter Signing Ceremony took place at the Pentagon Auditorium today and included Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, and Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jessica L. Wright. It is important to note that while the Human Goals Charter sets "goals" for the Department, it does not necessarily reflect a change in official policy or law.
"We applaud the Secretary of Defense and the Administration for including sexual orientation with these important goals in equal opportunity to build stronger and more inclusive command climates throughout the Department of Defense ( DoD )," said Stephen Peters, president of AMPA. "However, we call upon the Secretary and the Administration to take swift action in changing the official DoD Non-Discrimination Policy and the Military Equal Opportunity Program to include sexual orientation as a protected class for uniformed troops against unlawful prejudice and discrimination. We need these changes to ensure gay and lesbian troops are treated with the respect and professionalism they deserve and have appropriate courses of action that can be taken to address concerns. We also look forward to the day when the Human Goals Charter addresses gender identity and our transgender service members are no longer forced to serve in silence."
While the current DoD Military Equality Opportunity Program protects against unlawful prejudice or discrimination based upon sexual orientation for DoD civilians, it does not do so for uniformed troops.
For more information about the American Military Partner Association and LGBT military families, please visit our home on the web atwww.MilitaryPartners.org .
From a Press Release
NCTE: Pentagon Human Goals Charter "Disappointing" for Absence of Trans People
Washington, DC - The Pentagon today released the Human Goals Charter, a document that outlines the guiding principles for the treatment of Department of Defense uniform and civilian workforce that, for the first time, affirms gay and lesbian military service members.
In response to the absence of the inclusion of transgender people in the document, National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling issued the following statement:
"While this is a positive step, it's very disappointing that the Department of Defense ( DOD ) missed this opportunity to make clear its commitment to equal opportunity for transgender civilian workers. Transgender civilian workers at the Department of Defense are protected under sex discrimination laws because EEOC precedent makes clear that sex discrimination law protect transgender workers in all federal civilian contexts including the Department of Defense. We hope the Department will make this explicit in its civilian EEO policy, and will soon review the outdated rules, and remove the prejudice from those rules, that prevent transgender service members from serving openly and safely.
Another obvious deficiency in federal employment policy that can and should be addressed immediately is the President should sign the Executive Order that will explicitly disallow job discrimination by federal contractors including military contractors."
The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. By empowering transgender people and our allies to educate and influence policymakers and others, NCTE facilitates a strong and clear voice for transgender equality in our nation's capital and around the country. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501( c )3 organization.
