In a series of tweets, the commander in chief argued that too much is at stake in the military’s current operations for it to be “burdened” by the medical costs of transgender people or the “disruption” he says transgender service members would cause.
“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Mr. Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”
The decision would reverse a policy announced in 2016 under former president Barack Obama and the content of Trump’s statement is at odds with the current Department of Defense policy that had been crafted with Armed Services leadership, as well as medical and personnel experts.
The then-defence secretary Ash Carter said in June 2016 that transgender individuals could serve openly and would no longer be discharged or separated from the military solely for that reason.
The all-volunteer U.S. military needed to be able to recruit the best people available without “barriers unrelated to a person’s qualification,” Mr. Carter said at the time.
From the Defense Department website:
“Transgender service members may serve openly. They may not be discharged or separated from the military solely on the basis of their gender identity.
As with other major presidential announcements from Trump on Twitter, there will likely be extraordinary backlash to this statement from liberal and moderate circles.”
According to estimates from the National Center for Transgender Equality, more than 134,000 American veterans are transgender and more than 15,000 transgender individuals are currently serving in the military.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he was reaching out to the LGBT community and promised to protect them from terrorism.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who serves as advisor to President, has also expressed support for the LGBT community in the past.
As expected, backlash to Trump’s announcement was swift.
GLAAD, a prominent LGBTQ advocacy organization, condemned the ban on transgender soldiers as part of “the full-scale attack on LGBTQ Americans by the Trump Administration.”
“President Trump today issued a direct attack on transgender Americans, and his administration will stop at nothing to implement its anti-LGBTQ ideology within our government – even if it means denying some of our bravest Americans the right to serve and protect our nation,” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. “Today further exposed President Trump’s overall goal to erase LGBTQ Americans from this nation. Trump has never been a friend to LGBTQ Americans, and this action couldn’t make that any more clear.”
David Dinielli, the deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit specializing in civil right, released the following statement:
“Thousands upon thousands of transgender people have served and are serving this country with honor and courage. But while these brave men and women risk their lives for all of us, in every corner of the world, 24 hours a day, President Trump tweets out a disgraceful, discriminatory policy – backed by the country’s most extreme anti-LGBT hate groups – that will do nothing to make anyone safer. This policy only serves to throw fuel on the fire of hatred and fear, making an already-vulnerable population even more vulnerable.”
Joshua Block, the senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV project, called Trump’s action “outrageous and desperate.” He said transgender service members deserve better than a commander-in-chief who “rejects their basic humanity.”
“Let us be clear. This has been studied extensively, and the consensus is clear: There are no cost or military readiness drawbacks associated with allowing trans people to fight for their country,” Block said. “The president is trying to score cheap political points on the backs of military personnel who have put their lives on the line for their country.”
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who has a transgender son, criticized the Trump administration in February for revoking federal guidelines that protected transgender students from discrimination. She spoke out against Trump’s most recent statement as well.
Before becoming Trump’s running mate, Vice President Mike Pence was perhaps best known for his opposition to LGBT rights as governor of Indiana. He was embroiled in a national controversy after signing the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” in March 2015. According to Pence, the law prohibited any government entity from “substantially burdening” someone’s right to exercise his or her religion. But critics accused Pence of legalizing discrimination against LGBT individuals, something he denied. But after tremendous pushback, Pence signed additional legislation the following month to clarify that the bill prohibits discrimination.
Pence’s views on the LGBT community appear to have changed little since becoming vice president. On Tuesday, Foreign Press reported that Pence and his staff have been quietly working to undo the Defense Department’s year-old policy of covering medical expenses for procedures for transitioning service members.
Source: YAHOO News
