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Hallelujah: Jeb Bush Thinks Maybe Trans People Shouldn't Be Drummed Out Of The Military

Jeb Bush wants us to know he's not your father's Republican—or his father's, for that matter.

In a campaign stop in Iowa yesterday, the former Florida governor indicated he maybe, possibly, potentially, that able-bodied trans service members should be allowed to risk their lives for their country.

Related: Meet Shane Ortega, The First Openly Trans Soldier On Active Duty

“I’m sure there’s a role for everybody to play in the Armed Forces,” Bush told BuzzFeed News. “I think it would depend on the role, the specific role, whether it’s appropriate or not.”

Related:  President Obama Supports Lifting Ban On Transgender Military Service

The newly minted candidate insisted, "the first priority for the military is to create an environment where the morale’s high, where people are trained, and we have the best fighting force." He added, "if you can accommodate that in that kind of environment, I don’t think there’s a problem for it."

Remember when the Republicans claimed allowing gays and lesbians in the military would destroy morale? Do we really think they'll act differently here?

Bush claimed to have no knowledge of Dr. Jamie Lee Henry, a major in the Army's Medical Corps and the military's first out transgender officer.

Henry, like Shane Ortega, lives and works in a legal limbo—while Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed in 2010, the ban on out trans service members is still in place.

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