McSally’s Positions on LGBTQ Rights are Confusing
Jul 27, 2017
Martha McSally’s positions on the issue of LGBTQ rights are a confusing bag. As with most issues that aren’t related to the border or the A-10, it is hard to unpack her positions. Yesterday the President set off a storm with a series of Tweets about banning people who are transgender from serving in the military.
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Several members of Congress put out statements condemning the idea, including members of her own party. [1] But Martha has remained silent. This silence is not surprising, as Martha tends to shy away from issues that might upset her carefully crafted yet false reputation as a Moderate. But while unsurprising, her failure to condemn the President’s Tweets demonstrates her unwillingness to take any kind of meaningful stand. Based on her image created by her overworked PR teams, we should expect her to come out in defense of the proud men and women who are transgender and serve our country. She has a stake in the matter as a veteran and serving on the Armed Services Committee. Coupled with her tendency to tour the major cable news programs when issues of the military are hot topics, her silence speaks volumes. So again, since she won’t let her constituents know where she stands, we at Represent Me AZ are forced to let her constituents know.
Recap
You can read about her past views on LGBTQ issues here on our website with sources.
McSally voted to allow Federal Agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ. She said in 2012 that same sex marriage should be banned. In the same survey she indicated that LGBTQ does not deserve to be a protected class under Federal Anti-discrimination Law. She told a mother that other children need to be protected from transgender children. Two months later she told a group of Cienega High School students that she fights for LGBTQ rights and that they deserve “every opportunity in this country.” Most of her statements are meant to portray her as a Moderate to her more socially minded constituents. But these statements are confusing and the votes don’t match up.
Updates Since we Last Wrote About LGBTQ Issues
Then on July 13th, she voted for the Hartzler Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that “sought to prohibit funds for medical treatment (other than mental health treatment) related to gender transition to a person entitled to medical care under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code.” [2] Luckily this Amendment failed in the House.
McSally continues to use her favorite shield by stating that LGBTQ rights are a State’s Rights issue. This is how she justifies her statements about fighting for LGBTQ but then voting to undermine the civil rights of those in that community. Surely she is aware that civil rights are a Federal Issue. By continuing her current trend of voting we are left to infer that she believes that the people in the LGBTQ community deserve less protections than other Americans.
There has been a great deal of pushback on Trump’s ban. This includes a statement from the Joint Chiefs of the Military who appear to have been caught off guard by the policy change by way of Twitter. McSally certainly would not be alone if she chose to speak out in support of the troops she professes to stand behind. McSally’s silence is both unsurprising and unacceptable.
[2] https://www.congress.gov/amendment/115th-congress/house-amendment/183