Local mixed reaction to Trump transgender military ban

FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KTVU) - President Trump's announcement to bar transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military has drawn both praise and criticism.

Just across the street from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Nina Dycus runs her own barbershop. Dycus served in the U.S. Air Force overseas during 9/11 in the military police.

She supports President Donald Trump's plan that would ban transgender people from serving in the military.

"I agree with Trump. I don't get how you go from 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to, 'Now you can change your gender'. That's not what our country is about.," Dycus said.

But a man who works nearby disagrees with the ban.

"It's a form of racism. It's a form of discrimination and segregation. The politicians talk about upholding the constitution and how they will level the playing field. I don't see it," said Adrian Wright, of Fairfield.

Some 10,000 people, military and civilian, work at Travis. It's the largest employer in Solano County and pumps  about $1 billion a year into the local economy.

Beth Hillman, president of Mills College in Oakland, a military scholar and former military officer, called the announcement disrespectful to those in the trans community already serving.

"Disappointment, that the president would make statements so not rooted in reality. And also reflect such disrespect for the transgender individuals who are serving, because transgender people have been serving openly in the military for the last year," said Hillman.

Travis says there are perhaps a dozen transgendered individuals at the base, approximately 2,500 in the entire military, according to one study.

A spokeswoman for Travis, Capt. Lyndsey Horn, told KTVU, "We will continue to work with the Department of Defense to see what it will look like with new guidelines coming from our Commander In Chief."

"When it comes to the military we have a mission, and that is far from it," said Dycus.

"Any gender, transgender male/male whatever, should have just as many rights as we do," said Fairfield resident Kelly Perdoni.

There now remains the practical question of how this policy will be implemented. And what happens to those transgender already serving.