· President Donald Trump sent a blow to
the LGBT community last week when he tweeted: "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," Trump said in a series of tweets Wednesday
morning. "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." "Thank you," he
added.
·
· Trump's
decision came without a plan in place to implement it. White House press
secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not have an answer on what would happen to
active transgender military members but said the White House and the Defense
Department would work together "as implementation takes place and is done
so lawfully. "Sanders said transgender service "erodes military
readiness and unit cohesion" citing health costs. She said the move was
based on a "military decision" and is "not meant to be anything
more than" that. Sanders said the decision was made based "on what
was best for the military" and was made in council with the President's
national security team.
·
· A 2016
Rand Corp. study commissioned by the Defense Department concluded
that letting transgender people serve openly would have a "minimal
impact" on readiness and health care costs, largely because there are so
few in the military's 1.3 million-member force. The study put the number of
transgender people in the military between 1,320 and 6,630. Gender-change
surgery is rare in the general population, and the RAND study estimated the
possibility of 30 to 140 new hormone treatments a year in the military, with 25
to 130 gender transition-related surgeries among active service members. The
cost could range from $2.4 million and $8.4 million, an amount that would
represent an "exceedingly small proportion" of total health care
expenditures, the study found.
· Trump's
decision marks a setback for LGBT rights groups who have expressed concerns
that the Trump administration could chip away at progress the community has
seen in recent years on the backs of a series of landmark decisions in recent
years that have included the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide and a
repeal of the ban on gay people openly serving in the military.
·
· Trump's
decision is also another setback for the transgender community following his
decision several months ago to reverse an Obama administration policy allowing
transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. The announcement was
immediately criticized by LGBT leaders and civil rights group.
·
· The American
Civil Liberties Union called the decision "outrageous and desperate"
and said it was exploring ways to fight the policy shift. "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. 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," said Joshua Block, the senior staff attorney with the
ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan, the vice chair of the congressional
LGBT caucus, called Trump's decision a "slap in the face to the thousands
of transgender Americans already serving in the military" and said it
"undermines our military's readiness." "Anyone who is willing to
put on the uniform of the United States and risk their life in service to our
country should be celebrated as patriots, regardless of their gender identity.
This short-sighted and discriminatory policy will make America less safe,"
said Kildee.
The President's decision flies in the face of his 2016 campaign
rhetoric, when he said he would be a strong defender of the LGBT community --
and even claimed he would be a better president for LGBT Americans than his
opponent, Hillary Clinton.
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