Pentagon soon to lift ban on transgender service members

ARLINGTON, Va., June 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Defense will soon lift its ban on transgender service members, perhaps within weeks, Pentagon officials reportedly said Friday.

The Defense officials, who spoke to the news media on condition of anonymity, said American military leaders will make the move to be in-step with recent actions taken by President Barack Obama's administration.

"Nothing has been set in stone on this," one official said, according to report by The Washington Post Friday.

The sources said the ban will be lifted by the end of July. USA Today reported Friday that the Pentagon will announce the move on July 1.

Such a move would culminate a debate over transgender individuals in the U.S. military that has been going for about a year. Last summer, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered a panel to research transgender military service.

The decision to lift the ban is not surprising to many, since Carter said last year that the Pentagon will lift the ban unless the review showed it would adversely impact the Defense Department's "military effectiveness and readiness."

"What would be the projected cost of changing the transgender service policy?" Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asked in a letter to Carter last July. "To what extent would military barracks, ship berths, gym shower facilities, latrines, and other facilities have to be modified to accommodate personnel in various stages of transition and what would be the projected cost of these modifications?"

Under the Pentagon's current policy, transgender people are considered sexual deviants who are subject to discharge. To make it more difficult to dismiss transgender members, Carter changed department rules to give that authority only to more senior military officials.

Lifting the military ban would become the latest step forward for equality in the LGBT community. In recent months, the federal government has ordered that transgender students be allowed to use whichever bathroom they are more comfortable with.

However, the movements have not been met with universal acclaim. Critics argue that making such accommodations raise privacy concerns.