From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

America's Armed Forces and Gender Identity.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed four years ago. This Tuesday, the Pentagon extended a full range of discrimination protections to gays and lesbians. It's been a long time coming. But some 15,000

transgender troops are not included, often despite years of distinguished service, including combat.

Many are recognized for who they are by their comrades and their commanders, but officially they are not

fit to serve. We'll hear about a historic moment and who's being left behind. Today's talking point

with a field more crowded than ever, how can Republican voters tell one presidential candidate from all the others? First, here's the news.

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Hello again. We're not only back with to the point. The Pentagon has long prohibited

discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, or age. This week, the same protections

have been extended to gays and lesbians, but transgender people are subject to discharge.

We'll hear what it's like to serve when your identity is in question. Today's talking point,

the GOP is struggling to weed out a

crowd of presidential candidates. Now the party's straw poll has come to an end in Iowa, and Republicans

in New Hampshire don't want Fox News using Gallup polls to decide who gets to participate in the

first debate. First, this news update. As we go to air, President Obama has just suffered a stinging defeat

from his own party, even after he went to Capitol Hill to lobby Democrats on behalf of

freed trade authority in the Pacific.

Reid Wilson is chief political correspondent for the Morning Consult.

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