Category Archives: News

AVER makes an effort to maintain links to news articles, from around the USA and the world at large, pertaining to the LGBT community, veterans and/or service members. If you find a relevant news article that is not listed, please send us the link via our Contact page, and we will assess the content for inclusion in our News lists.Please note:1. We scour the internet frequently to ensure that our news links are for articles published by media outlets. If you find a dead link, please let us know. For [non-AVER] organizational press releases, please see our Links directory.2. We will sometimes include articles pertaining to legislative matters; however, as a 501(c)(3) organization, we do not post news pertaining to specific political candidates, as this could be misconstrued as endorsement.

Trump Tweets Ban Transgender Service

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 26, 2017

RE: Trump Tweets Ban Transgender Service

Contact:

AVER Public Affairs, Denny Meyer 718.849.5665 publicaffairs@aver.us

AVER President, Steve Loomis, LTC, USA, (Ret) 505.301.1737

Atlanta, GA (JUL 26, 2017) – American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) is astonished by President Trump’s statements this morning prohibiting transgender Americans from serving our country in the US military. On the very anniversary, July 26, 1948, that President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 to end racial segregation in our US military, President Donald J. Trump issues tweets to bar transgender service members from serving in our same US armed forces. Such an incredible twist of fate in history! One opens doors to liberty. One slams them shut.

“The President’s unilateral action concerning transgender service members is insulting to some of our most capable service members and disrespectful to the leadership of our military. Without full consultation, a President who never served our country has taken an action that discriminates without factual foundation. Transgender members are already and have always been part of some of our most combat ready units without difficulty for decades and will continue to be in the future. As long as any soldier, sailor, marine, airman or coast guards man has the physical and mental ability, they must be allowed to serve in the defense of our country.”

Current policies require that transgender recruits must complete gender transition before they can enter the military. Mr. Trump is simply denying entry into the military to capable male and female volunteers no different from any other man or woman. The citizens of the United States require a military governed by carefully considered policies and not by early morning tweet storms from a President who neither understands the current policy nor cares about the human cost of defending our nation’s liberty. We defend transgender service members right to serve!

USAF Master Sargent Leah Messer (left with US flag), a 15-year transgender veteran of the United States Air Force, would lose her job if Donald Trump’s tweets become policy.

 

Letter to Membership

November 20, 2016

Fellow Veterans, Service Members, Families and Allies,  

Our nation has experienced a contentious and divisive election. American Veterans for Equal Rights shares your concern that the rights we fought for and won must now be defended.

AVER fought for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell which ended the nearly century old ban against open Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual service. LGBT Americans gained national marriage equality, a freedom only dreamed of a decade ago. Our United States military opened combat positions to women, and in only the past month we saw the ban against Transgender service lifted.

AVER shares your concern that these victories are in jeopardy under a new administration hostile to our community. Those who have endured the investigations and disgrace of being discharged from our careers, who have survived the tragedy of AIDS, who have endured the denial of our relationships and the dishonoring of our families and our service, share your fears. We share a common resolve that, WE ARE NOT GOING BACK. 

Last week AVER reached out to the Trump Administration to offer our services as the nation’s LGBT Veterans Service Organization. Like many of you, we are deeply wary of this change, but we must live, and where necessary, fight in this new world. We have a Constitutional obligation to respect the office of President and a moral obligation to ensure the holder of that office is the leader of and for all Americans, not just a few.

We will continue our vigilance. We resolve never to rest as long as our rights are threatened. Our vigilance is not unfounded. Only last week the VA reversed its promise to provide gender correction surgery to heal our transgender veterans.   Our fear is real. Our fight is not over. We have come this far together. Together, we will defend the liberties we hold so precious, and we will strive to secure them for future generations of LGBT Americans. AVER, locally and nationally, will remain a safe, respectful and supportive place for all of us.

Your service, your skills, and your support, are needed today in this critical mission. Stand with us, and defend our freedoms for our fellow veterans and heroes yet to come. The need is as great now as it has ever been. Thank you for your continued support and alliance. 

On behalf of your National Board, 

Veterans Proudly serving since Valley Forge! 

 

Steve Loomis                                                                                                                                    LTC, EN, U.S. Army (Retired)                                                                                                                 National President                                                                                                                     American Veterans for Equal Rights                                                                                                  Email: president@aver.us                                                                                                                    Website: www.aver.us                                                                                                                        Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AVER/

Pentagon Announces Open Transgender Service

Pentagon Announces Open Transgender Service

June 30, 2016

On the final day of Pride Month 2016, The United States Department of Defense announced the long anticipated news that patriotic Transgender Americans will now be able to openly choose to volunteer to serve their country. Transgender Americans are twice as likely to volunteer to serve as any other group of Americans, many are currently serving. Now, finally, they will be able to serve without having to hide who they are, in pride of serving our nation.

Nearly all of our allied nations have allowed their transgender citizens to serve starting in the mid-1990s when their bans were lifted on the service of lesbian, gay and bisexual patriots. Israel was the first to lift restrictions and limitations on the service their LGBT citizens, nearly all of whom have always been required to serve, regardless of sexual orientation or gender variance. Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and European nations all included transgender service allowance along with lesbian, gay and bisexual service during the 1990s. Now, America, which taught democracy and equality to much of the world following WWII, has caught up with the wave of full equality for all those who want to courageously step forward to be among our bravest citizens.

Steve Loomis, LTC, US Army Retired, President of American Veterans For Equal Rights, said, “AVER has long supported and encouraged the right of transgender men and women to serve their country openly and with the honor they deserve.   We strongly support Secretary Carter and his plan for implementing Transgender service while ensuring the ability of our military to effectively perform its mission.”

Evan Young, Major US Army retired, President of Transgender American Veterans Association, said, “This is a historic day in the United States Military. Our nation’s military has stepped up and joined other nations in allowing transgender service members to serve openly. I am proud of the Department of Defense for allowing everyone who meets the standards to serve. We should all be judged on our merits and not on our gender identity.”

We look forward to working with DoD to assist in developing policies and regulations regarding the service and equal benefits of our patriotic volunteers.

See Secretary Carter’s Statement:  http://www.defense.gov/Video?videoid=472601

Contact: Steve Loomis, AVER President, sloomis@swcp.com or                                                      Denny Meyer, PAO AVER/TAVA 718 849-5665

Steve Loomis

LTC, EN, U.S. Army (Retired)

National President

American Veterans for Equal Rights

505-301-1737

Website www.aver.us

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AVER/

 

LGBT Veterans Stand with Orlando

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

June 15, 2016

An Open Letter LGBT Veterans Stand with Orlando
America was assaulted early Sunday morning as at least 49 members of our LGBT and allies community in Orlando, Florida were killed and 53 more injured in an eruption of violence against the gay community. “We all hurt because part of our community is in pain. The members of American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) served our country to help protect it from senseless terrorism such as this. As veterans and active duty service members we go in harm’s way serving to protect our country, then come home only to be assaulted and cut down in our most important and representative time of the year, Pride Month,” stated Army Vietnam veteran Lieutenant Colonel Steve Loomis, National President of AVER. AVER is America’s first and oldest Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender veterans and active duty service organization.

“In a society where diversity is our destiny and our greatest strength, the hateful and divisive attitudes that have become the hallmark of political and religious rhetoric in recent years must stop. There is no justification for mass murder or those who promote it,” stated AVER President Emeritus Danny Ingram, an Army veteran.

It is an attack on every American and the multi-colored fabric that is the core of who we are as a people. All lives matter, and hateful rhetoric, regardless of how it is justified or camouflaged, ultimately leads to the type of mass murder that we have witnessed in Orlando. We have all lost because of this horrible crime and AVER calls upon every American to question the prejudiced and hurtful attitudes that demonize entire groups of people and ultimately create a destructive rationale that leads to the murder of our fellow citizens.

America succeeds by valuing and respecting the inherent dignity of every human being, not by tearing down or eliminating groups who are different. We are angry veterans as we lost one of our own citizen soldiers in Orlando and angry citizens because the hurt spreads across our country. We join as one in mourning this act of evil against our community and nation. We strengthen our common resolve to build bridges of tolerance and understanding across our country united from sea to sea as our forefathers wished.

As these cowering shadow people encourage hatred and condone violence against American citizens for whatever reason, they violate our rights, our persons and our space. The hatemongering and divisive political and religious rhetoric must stop. Political and religious leaders who encourage intolerance or acts of violence must be held accountable.

It is America’s destiny to be the most diverse society in the history of the world, extending equal rights, equal respect, and equal responsibility to every citizen. To do otherwise is in no way democracy.

Steve Loomis
LTC, EN, U.S. Army (Retired)
National President
American Veterans for Equal Rights

Danny Ingram
SGT, US Army Veteran
National President Emeritus
American Veterans for Equal Rights

Eric Fanning Confirmed as Secretary of the Army

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Re:  Eric Fanning Confirmed as Secretary of the Army

Contact: Denny Meyer AVER Public Affairs, publicaffairs@aver.us 718 849-5665

Eric Fanning was confirmed as Secretary of the Army by the US Senate after a considerable delay.  He is eminently qualified, having served as Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy, Undersecretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force, and has been on the job serving as Acting Secretary of the Army for nearly a year.  The fact that he is openly gay is nearly irrelevant except for LGBT Americans and particularly LGBT soldiers in the US Army who now know that they have the support of someone who knows who they are.

The immediate 8 month delay since he was appointed by President Obama was reportedly to due politics rather than prejudice.  The more than 200 year delay in American history is more significant.  He has become the highest ranking known gay American armed forces official and first known openly gay Secretary in our armed forces.  It was not that long ago that simply being gay was grounds for dishonorable dismissal from our armed forces.  And yet, gay patriots have served our nation since the Revolutionary War, starting with LTGEN Friedrich Von Steuben who trained the Continental Army and wrote the original Rules of Order and Discipline which evolved into the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  We have a proud history.  Mr. Fanning now takes his well-deserved place therein.

AVER President, LTC Steve Loomis, US Army Retired, stated, “We welcome Eric Fanning as the new Secretary of the Army.  He can now proceed with leading the Army in a very important time.  His leadership will undoubtedly be effectively for all members of our Army.  We wish him and the Army the very best.”

American Veterans For Equal Rights is America’s first national LGBT veterans’ service organization advocating for the rights and benefits of LGBT veterans and service members since 1990 –  www.aver.us

 

NC, Mississippi Laws Hurt LGBT Soldiers, Marines

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 8, 2016

RE: NC, Mississippi Laws Hurt LGBT Soldiers, Marines

Contact: AVER Public Affairs, Denny Meyer 718.849.5665 publicaffairs@aver.us

AVER President, Steve Loomis, LTC, USA, (Ret) 505.301.1737

US Marine Corps (USMC) Marines, 3rd Marine Regiment (MAR REGT), Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (HI), stand at attention during the 64th commemoration of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, HI. The ceremony held annually to honor those who served during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Date Shot: 7 Dec 2005. DoD photo by: JO2 RYAN C. MCGINLEY, USN.

US Marine Corps (USMC) Marines, 3rd Marine Regiment (MAR REGT), DoD photo by: JO2 RYAN C. MCGINLEY, USN.

Atlanta, GA (APR 8, 2016) – American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), the nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Veterans Service Organization, strongly condemns the discriminatory legislation passed by the North Carolina and Mississippi state legislatures which legalizes the denial of services to the many LGBT United States military personnel and veterans living in those states. Especially in North Carolina, home to the nation’s largest military base, Fort Bragg, and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, these laws post a clear message to the honored LGBT Soldiers and Marines stationed in the state that “Your Kind Not Welcome.” The dedicated men and women who serve to defend our nation’s freedom deserve better than laws which undermine the very liberty they so faithfully protect. These laws hurt those who serve, hurt their families, and weaken communities. Such laws are unworthy of a free nation and a united people who value “liberty and justice for all.”