Donald J Trump - On Transgender Rights.

Every patriotic American who is qualified to serve in our military should be able to serve. Full stop.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 26, 2017

From Christine Vendel at Pennlive:

Donald Trump said last year he would be the "real friend" of the gay and transgender community.

But transgender advocates say his presidency has been anything but friendly toward their cause. The latest blow for them came Wednesday when Trump announced on Twitter that he had decided to ban transgender people from serving in the military.

Vendel collected some local reactions.  First Senator Casey:

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, criticized Trump's decision and said it was inconsistent with recommendations of previous military leadership.

"Americans willing to serve our nation in the military should be judged on their ability to do the job, not their gender identity," Casey said in a statement provided by his spokeswoman. "Prohibiting qualified, capable people from serving in our nation's military because of who they are makes our nation less safe."

And Senator Toomey:

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey's office released a statement that said Toomey, a Republican, believes every person should be judged based on his or her merits.

"That is why, during his entire public career, he has supported measures to protect individuals from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity," the statement said. "Department of Defense personnel decisions should be based entirely on maximizing the Armed Forces' ability to protect and defend the American people."

Toomey's office, however, did not offer additional clarification about whether Toomey supported or opposed Trump's ban.

I'll also note that in 2015, Toomey voted against "an amendment aimed at ending discrimination against same-sex marriage benefits for veterans." Here's the roll.

That kinda shifts the whole "during his entire public career, he has supported measures to protect individuals from discrimination based on their sexual orientation" phrase into something resembling dishonesty, doesn't it?

[Note: I ran out of time this morning and couldn't find this. My apologies for not including it.]

Then there's my local member of Congress, Mike Doyle:

@POTUS just banned trans people in US military - a cruel, unfair, unwise reversal of policy. #ProtectTransTroops https://t.co/9AXprqWpR1

— Mike Doyle (@USRepMikeDoyle) July 26, 2017

Even more locally, Adam Smeltz of the Post-Gazette has this on Mayor Bill Peduto:

Transgender people who enlist in the U.S. military “should be honored for” wearing the uniform, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday, rebutting President Donald Trump’s announcement that they can no longer serve.

“They are people who have put their lives at risk in order to defend this country, and discrimination shouldn’t be a case we look at to determine whether or not they’re qualified,” said Mr. Peduto, who has criticized Mr. Trump before. “When they wear that uniform, they wear it for all Americans, and they should be honored for that.”

Every patriotic American who is qualified to serve in our military should be able to serve.

Full stop.