Military families with transgender children are horrified by the Houses passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and some servicemembers are now considering leaving the armed forces to protect their kids. The annual military budget contains a provision banning gender-affirming care for the trans children of military members. The bill passed Wednesday in a 281-140 vote, with 81 Democratic congressmembers voting in its favor. Related Young LGBTQ+ people advise each other on how to survive challenging times Just look for the people who love you no matter what. I have a strong desire and propensity to continue to serve, but this will definitely weigh on my and my familys decision to continue serving and thats difficult, but my familys got to come first, an Air Force chief with a trans daughter, going by J, told The Hill. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today J said he has served for over 20 years and cannot at all see the connection between military readiness and taking away this essential health care. In fact, he sees the provision as actively harmful to morale. Taking away something that families are relying on distracts us from the mission and the task at hand in order to be and remain as lethal as we are, he said. Js spouse added, You cant say that this is going to help our military when youre scaring military families.If the NDAA passes, his family may have to purchase supplemental health insurance or pay out-of-pocket for their daughters health care. J is considering leaving the Air Force in two and a half years when his commitment is up. Ann, a veteran with a trans son whose husband is currently a senior Pentagon officer, said it feels like the safety bubbles are getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Ann served a 15-month combat tour in Iraq and eight total years in the military. The country is kind of closing in on us, she said, like, were running out of places to go, especially with something like the NDAA and just seeing the writing on the wall about a national ban on gender-affirming care. Anns son receives gender-affirming care through the military health plan TRICARE. She said he is thriving as a result, and while her husband does not want to retire, he may do so if NDAA eliminates the coverage they need. Thats pretty much marking the end of the road, she said,pointing out that legislation like this not only impedes health care but will cost the military talented members. If thats the way were going to be treated if thats the tone that Congress and the government wants to set, then thats pretty unfortunate because youre going to lose combat experience; youre going to lose leaders with decades of valuable experience that the military needs. Its a scary world out there, so its a pretty sad state of affairs for our national security that youre going to ask folks to make that decision and not support their families. One parent and veteran spouse of a now trans adult is devastated by the fact that the increasingly hostile environment could dash their childs dream of serving in the military. Its all theyve ever wanted to be like their dad, to carry on a family tradition of service to the country, she said. I dont think I can truly even express how devastating it would be for them to not be able to fulfill those dreams.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that Democratic congressional leadershipdidnt tell legislators how to vote on the bill, adding that theres a lot of positive and bipartisan provisions in the NDAA but also some troubling ones,CBS News reported. Senators will now vote on the bill. If their version is identical to the Houses and passes in the upper congressional chamber, it will go to President Joe Bidens desk, where he may veto or sign it into law. In the past, Biden has promised to veto legislation that harms the LGBTQ+ community.If Biden signs the law, it would be the first federal statute restricting the LGBTQ+ community since the infamous Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy of the 1990s which heavily restricted LGBTQ+ peoples membership from serving in the military.Another military spouse with an adult trans daughter said she worries that the anti-trans provision is a slippery slope toward ultimately banning gender-affirming care for adults through TRICARE as well. I do get concerned about that moving forward, that this could impact my daughter, this could impact older trans adults. I dont know where this ends, so I think its a really dangerous road to start down.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.