page_title: Jim Banks
section_title: LGBT rights
hierarchical_section_title: Jim Banks / Political positions / LGBT rights
caption_attribution_description: English: As we wrap up the first day of the 116th Congress, I want to again thank the people of #IN03 for the tremendous honor to serve you. Having my family with me as I was sworn in is a moment I’ll never forget. Representative Jim Banks being sworn in to his second term of Congress by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
context_page_description: James Edward Banks is an American military veteran and politician who is the U.S. Representative for Indiana's 3rd congressional district. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the Indiana Senate. Banks was first elected to serve in the state senate for the 17th district in 2010, and upon military deployment to Afghanistan, he took a leave of absence from the state senate since September 2014. Invoking an Indiana state law which allows state and local officeholders to take leaves of absence during active duty military service, Banks was temporarily replaced by his wife, Amanda Banks, who held the office for the senate's 2015 legislative session. He returned to Indiana from overseas duty on April 14, 2015 and resumed his duties as state senator on May 8, 2015. On May 3, 2016 he won the primary election for the Republican nomination for Indiana's 3rd congressional district.
context_section_description: Banks calls banning transgender people from serving in the military as an "emotional issue." He opposes the military paying for sex reassignment surgery saying that "I don't think taxpayers should be on the hook for that."
caption: Banks with his wife and children being sworn in by Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the 116th Congress
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