{"id":506026,"date":"2017-07-20T19:11:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T19:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glaad.logalt.net\/tap\/mark-esper\/"},"modified":"2023-04-21T22:29:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T22:29:46","slug":"mark-esper","status":"publish","type":"gap","link":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/gap\/mark-esper\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Esper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014<\/span>Gave misleading answer<\/a> to interview question asking about a \u201cblanket ban\u201d on transgender people serving in the military. Espers replied \u201cthere\u2019s no blanket ban\u201d when the policy standards require service members to serve as their \u201cbirth gender.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Former Chief of Staff<\/a> and Assistant to the President at the anti-LGBTQ Heritage Foundation. (Exact dates are unclear, but he is listed in both the 1996<\/a> and 1997<\/a> annual reports)<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Chair<\/a> of the National Security Policy subcommittee for the 2008 Republican Platform. The platform explicitly affirmed \u201cthe incompatibility of homosexuality with military service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Director of National Security Affairs<\/a> for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist as Frist pushed for a constitutional amendment declaring marriage as only between a man and a woman and refusing action to repeal \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d policy against open LGBTQ military service.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Policy director<\/a> for presidential candidate Fred Thompson who campaigned against recognizing same-sex marriages in states where it was not yet legal. Thompson: \u201cI would support a constitutional amendment which says some off-the-wall court decision in one state that recognizes the marriage in one state, like Massachusetts, just to pick a state, cannot go to another state and have it recognized in that state. You are not bound by what another state does.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":506027,"template":"","categories":[138754],"tags":[],"region":[138565],"hashtag":[138636,138632],"class_list":{"0":"post-506026","1":"gap","2":"type-gap","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"category-gaps","7":"region-national","8":"hashtag-anti-transgender","9":"hashtag-politics"},"aioseo_notices":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t