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2022-06-04 02:41:41 By : Ms. Nicole Fang

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The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is offering medical and legal aid to personnel and their families as hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ measures are considered in state legislatures nationwide.

“Various laws and legislation are being proposed and passed in states across America that may affect LGBTQ Airmen, Guardians, and/or their LGBTQ dependents in different ways,” DAF wrote last month in a news release that was not widely publicized.

Assignment, medical, legal and other resources are available to support Airmen and their family members, DAF said.

“The health, care and resilience of our DAF personnel and their families is not just our top priority – it’s essential to our ability to accomplish the mission,” Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones said in a statement. “We are closely tracking state laws and legislation to ensure we prepare for and mitigate effects to our Airmen, Guardians and their families. Medical, legal resources, and various assistance are available for those who need them.”

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In just the first three months of this year, more than 300 bills considered discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people have been introduced in state legislatures across the country, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Some of them have already become law.

But that tally excludes efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights outside of state houses. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in February ordered state agencies to investigate the parents of trans and nonbinary minors for “abusing” their children by allowing them to receive gender-affirming care, although those investigations have since been halted.

Service members and their families in need of medical treatment or mental health support for medical concerns should first visit DAF medical treatment facilities, DAF officials have advised. 

Existing programs like the Air Force’s Exceptional Family Member Program, for personnel with a special needs family member, are also available to service members interested in a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to help with navigating medical, legal and educational support for dependents while the family relocates.

“As is the case with all of our family members, if the support a family member needs becomes unavailable, commanders can work to get the service member to an assignment where their loved ones can receive the care they need,” Jones said.

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