- 26 Jul 2017 17:12
#14827176
Trump: U.S. military won’t allow transgender people ‘to serve in any capacity’
He announced it on Twitter, but nothing appears to be official policy as of yet. Honestly, even if this is just a logical, pragmatic measure, I don't even know if the ban is legal since the precedent of not banning someone because they pretend to be something they aren't or because of the genitalia they prefer.
Either way, this signals a genuine push back towards this trans nonsense, which I believe is what a lot of voters really wanted.
He announced it on Twitter, but nothing appears to be official policy as of yet. Honestly, even if this is just a logical, pragmatic measure, I don't even know if the ban is legal since the precedent of not banning someone because they pretend to be something they aren't or because of the genitalia they prefer.
Either way, this signals a genuine push back towards this trans nonsense, which I believe is what a lot of voters really wanted.
President Trump announced on Wednesday morning that the U.S. military would not “accept or allow” any transgender service members.
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.
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.
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.”
When contacted by Yahoo News, a Pentagon spokesperson said, “Right now we are referring all questions on the tweets to the White House.” Yahoo News reached out to the White House for comment.
Though Trump’s announcement may feel sudden, there have been rumblings that some officers in the military were not comfortable with the current policy.
Earlier this month, for instance, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced that there would be a six-month delay in implementing recruitment policies for transgender Americans so that military chiefs could determine how they would affect the force’s “readiness or lethality.”
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 rights, 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.
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.