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The Push For Transgender Troops

There are signs that transgender people could serve openly in the United States military within the next year.
U.S. Army
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WUNC's Frank Stasio talks with KUOW military reporter Patricia Murphy about the ongoing Pentagon effort to accommodate transgender service members.

The American military permits people to serve regardless of sexual orientation, but there are still policies precluding military service based on gender identity.

About 15,000 transgender people currently serve in the American military in violation of the rules. The United States lags behind many other Western nations that allow transgender people to serve openly, but Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is pushing for change.

On WUNC's "The State of Things," host Frank Stasio talks with KUOW military reporter Patricia Murphy about her reporting as part of the American Homefront Project.

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