In a string of tweets this morning, Donald Trump announced that transgender people will no longer be allowed to serve in the United States military.
Photo courtesy of Jackie Nappo
This decision comes a month after military chiefs announced that they would wait six months before deciding whether or not to allow trans people to join the service. The six month delay was intended, according to military officials, to gauge if the currently serving trans members were facing any issues, and what changes would be necessary to make.
Trans people had been allowed to serve openly in the military since former Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, ended the ban on trans service last October. Since then, trans people have been able to receive medical care and exist in their gender identities while serving their country. Carter had given the services until July 1 to develop a policy on allowing people who identify as trans to newly join the military, but this delay was, again, intended to gain a fuller understanding of the medical and physical needs of trans people who wish to serve. Our current Secretary of Defense is Jim Mattis, who is likely the “military expert” referred to in the above tweets. Mattis has been trying to refocus the U.S. military after he felt there was too much emphasis on things like sexual assault/harrassment training, and not enough focus on war fighting.
This decision also comes almost exactly a year after Trump promised in his campaign that he would do everything he could to protect the LGBT community. It seems he might have forgotten what the “T” in the acronym stands for.
In estimates from the National Center for Transgender Equality, 134,000 veterans and 15,000 currently serving military members identify as transgender. Trump describes their presence in the military as a disruption to the focus on victory, but a greater disruption, one might think, would be 15,000 less people fighting to make America great again. But who’s to say?
If you are feeling outraged, don’t forget to make your voice heard and call your state representatives. Right now, the Senate is making decisions on the future of health care in this country. This is another issue that has the potential to make life even more difficult for trans people (as well as straight, gender binary people). Call, e-mail, show up and, most importantly, stay informed.