Defense Funding Bill Stripped of Anti-LGBTQ Amendments

metroweekly.com:

attached several conservative amendments targeting access to abortion and LGBTQ rights to the National Defense Authorization Act.Among those amendments were a measure to prohibit the health insurance program for active-duty service members and their dependents, and a program that covers military dependents who have special needs, from covering the cost of gender-affirming treatments, including hormones and surgical interventions.Another anti-LGBTQ amendment, introduced by U.S.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), would have effectively banned any books featuring LGBTQ content from Department of Defense Education Activity schools, which are institutions located in various countries throughout the world that serve children and dependents of overseas military personnel.Still other amendments attached to the House version of the NDAA were a ban on drag performances on military bases and other military-owned properties; a ban on flying Pride flags at military locations; and a restriction prohibiting service members from listing their pronouns or gender in official correspondence.After the House passed its version of the bill, more than 150 House Democrats signed onto a letter asking the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to strip out the anti-LGBTQ provisions, arguing that keeping them in the final version of the NDAA would hamper the ability to recruit and retain service members who might happen to be LGBTQ.“If service members are concerned for their health care, their right to exist, or the well-being of their children and loved ones, they cannot focus on their jobs, thereby weakening military readiness and retention rates,” the letter read. “Ensuring our ranks reflect the diversity of the American.