ASBURY PARK, NJ — Yesterday’s passage of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, with provisions restricting access to healthcare for trans youth from military families, is a dark preview of what will be a horrifying four years for many LGBTQ+ Americans. In times like this, we must remember that it is our strength as a community that will sustain us in the times ahead.
Republican leadership’s decision to weaponize the NDAA by including this cruel and unnecessary attack on transgender youth, and using our nation’s defense budget to target marginalized and vulnerable communities, is shameful. It’s equally shameful that 81 Democrats agreed that targeting trans youth was not a dealbreaker.
Our servicemembers and their families deserve nothing but the best when it comes to healthcare. Healthcare decisions should always be guided by medical experts and the needs of patients — not political agendas. Garden State Equality will continue to fight for policies that affirm and protect LGBTQ+ people and hold those who endanger our community accountable.
We thank New Jersey’s Congressmembers Donald Norcross, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, and LaMonica McIver for standing on the side of the most vulnerable. It’s not always easy to do the right thing, but protecting trans youth is always the right thing to do.
Updates
- Featured Post, Press Release
Statement on the Passage of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act
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Garden State Equality, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in New Jersey, lifts up the diverse voices of LGBTQ+ communities through education and advocacy to advance the movement for equality in New Jersey and nationally.
