Syracuse N.Y. — The Syracuse VA Medical Center has removed many of the LGBTQ+ posters and window messages since President Trump took office.
Timothy Kilpatrick, an Army veteran, said he noticed the changes when he visited the medical center for treatment in late January. The window messages he walked past for weeks were gone, as were several posters promoting inclusive care and resources for LGBTQ+ veterans, he said.
The overpass from the VA parking garage to the hospital had messages painted on the windows including “your identity is valid” and “you are exactly who you are supposed to be.”
The window paintings had been up for a while, Kilpatrick said, but when he returned for care a few weeks later, they had disappeared. Only smeared remnants of pink paint remained.
Syracuse VA officials did not answer questions from Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard when asked if staff at the hospital had taken down LGBTQ+ signs, materials and window paintings.
In a statement provided on Feb. 13, a VA spokesperson said, “all veterans and VA beneficiaries will always be welcome at all VA facilities to receive the benefits and services they have earned under the law.”
However, the statement also said the VA is working to “fully and faithfully execute” President Trump’s executive order which directs federal agencies to eliminate gender ideology and only recognize two sexes.
“The department’s efforts to end DEI will not negatively impact any VA benefits or services,” said Jason Robertson, a spokesperson for the Syracuse VA.
Lindsay Church, the executive director of Minority Veterans of America, said the Syracuse VA is not alone in taking down LGBTQ+ resources and signs. The group is a nonprofit organization that works to help underrepresented veterans.
In some locations, VA staff have removed or painted over rainbow imagery, Church said.
The Veterans Affairs Central Office has also ordered local VA facilities to do an inventory of their resources and catalog events related to LGBTQ+ care, according to Church.
VA Secretary Doug Collins issued a memo on Feb. 13 banning LGBTQ+ pride flags from VA facilities. The new policy permits only a limited list of flags, including the American flag, VA flags, military service flags and state flags.
Pride flags and others are prohibited in cubicles, government vehicles, parking garages or any area “in public or plain view,” according to the memo.
Church said they also noticed that the VA’s health portal for veterans' gender identity was altered in the second week of February.
On February 11, The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) posted on X that they fixed the VA portal by deleting the gender identity section on veterans' personal information page.
“I’m a trans nonbinary veteran, so my gender identity has always been in my VA profile,” Church said. “Now, it’s gone.”
Several other trans veterans told Church their medical records now misgender them by reflecting their birth sex.
Directive 1341, a VA policy which provides equal access to care for trans and intersex veterans, states that the VA will provide care in a manner that is consistent with veterans self-identified gender identity.
The VA also ended diversity, equity and inclusion in line with President Trump’s executive order to end DEI within the federal government, according to a VA news release on Jan. 27.
The release said VA staff is in the process of taking down a “variety of DEI-related media.”
At the time of the release, the VA had placed 60 employees on paid leave nationwide who had jobs focused on DEI activities, they said. The VA is also working to cancel DEI training, materials and other consulting services, according to the release.
President Trump’s executive order gives the VA 120 days to make changes, according to Robertson.
He said there will be no changes to services and benefits for veterans and VA beneficiaries until a formal order is issued by VA’s Office of the Secretary.
Around 6.3% of people in the military identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual according to a 2018 Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors survey. It is the most recent comprehensive data available and does not include transgender service members.
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