This week the California Legislature passed a bill to expand state veteran benefit programs to transgender troops forced out of the military under the Trump administration's ban on trans people.
Assembly Bill 1775 amends existing law that expedites professional licensing for veterans.
California law also funds grants to help veterans separated under less than honorable conditions apply for discharge upgrades if they were separated for certain mental health conditions, brain injuries, sexual assault or orientation. The new bill expands the benefit to people leaving service because of the trans ban.
Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, sponsored the bill. He doesn't think trans people should be disqualified from military service.
"There's no credible evidence that they're undermining readiness, cohesion or effectiveness," Ward told KPBS during an interview Thursday. "We want to make sure that California is doing everything it can to support them when Washington fails them."
Reinstating a ban on trans people in the military was among President Donald Trump's first executive orders when he began his second term.
The new ban immediately faced a legal challenge that is ongoing.
Advocates sued the Trump administration during his first term when it also banned trans troops from serving. President Joe Biden rescinded the ban in 2021 before the courts could issue a final ruling on the legality of the ban.
Ward said it's been devastating for trans people in uniform.
"They expected that this was something that was going to be a meaningful and fulfilling life career," he said. "Now this is leaving many desperate and directionless and hurt."
Capt. Katherine Koehlmoos served in eight years in the Army as a cyberspace operations officer — including time in the 75th Ranger Regiment.
She left the Army during the Biden administration but is still in the Individual Ready Reserve.
Koehlmoos is trans — she transitioned while on active duty. She said she's been working to support AB 1775 to help other trans service members.
"It's not OK to discriminate against people purely on the basis of if they're transgender or not," she said.
Koehlmoos is a board member of SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit advocacy group for trans troops and veterans.
She said the bill does more than help troops with less than honorable discharges — it also says something to the community.
"It makes me feel that we have people at the highest levels who are actively thinking about us and looking out for us," Koehlmoos said. "Each of these pieces is small individually but sort of links together to make it so that being transgender ... does not influence your status as a veteran."
Koehlmoos said no one is looking for special treatment.
"It's just making sure that we are treated the same way as everybody else is," she said. "At the end of the day, that's pretty much all that any of us are asking for."
The bill is now on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. Ward said he tries not to predict what the governor may or may not do.
"We have done all the work that we can do on this and (Newsom) has consistently been a great ally to the LGBT community," Ward said. "I think he knows what the right thing to do is."
