I woke this morning to the news that Trump will reinstate the ban against transgender Americans being allowed to serve openly in the military. The ban had been lifted under President Obama but the plan to allow trans people to serve openly was still under review, and it was an ominous sign when Defense Secretary James Mattis announced last month that he was delaying enactment of the plan.
Trump made the following statement in three tweets this morning: “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. 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.”
The “tremendous medical costs” is nothing but an excuse. In 2016 the Defense Department commissioned the Rand Corporation to do study which 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 reassignment surgery is rare in the general population, and the RAND study estimated the possibility of 30 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 argument that the medical costs would be a burden is nothing but a thinly veiled excuse to discriminate against transgender Americans and deny us the right to serve openly. So, what’s next, reinstating the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy? Our rights are being systematically taken away, and where does it end?
I am beyond outraged. I am angry that we as a nation have taken yet another step backwards by allowing the trans community to be so blatantly discriminated against. Up until now I have refrained from criticizing those in the LGBT community who voted for Trump, but I can no longer hold my tongue. I am furious and bewildered that so many in the trans community actually voted for Trump. He was very clear during his campaign that he intended to take away the rights of the LGBT community, so It’s not like the reinstatement of the ban or the other anti-trans legislation should come as a surprise. How any member of the trans community could think it was a good idea to vote for Trump is beyond me. During his campaign Trump stated “Thank you to the LGBT Community! I will fight for you!” Does it look like he’s fighting for us? The only thing he’s fighting for is to take away our rights and legislate us out of existence. It’s frightening how simple it apparently was for so many people to be persuaded to vote for him.
As a trans veteran I have always been unabashedly patriotic and proud to be an American. It was an honor to serve my country. But today I feel like I’ve been spit on by my own country. The very people whose rights and freedoms I protected while serving are now taking away my rights. I have never felt more ashamed of my country. Trump does not represent the principals which made America great; he stands for hate and ignorance and greed. He is not my president.
We as a nation, and especially those of us in the LGBT community, need to think long and hard about what America stands for and whether the current direction this nation is heading under Trump is in line with those beliefs. We have taken a huge step backwards under Trump and it’s only going to get worse. We need to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask some hard questions. We need to take a stand before it’s too late; before there is nothing left to fight for.
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