A dreaded matter has now become a reality as President Donald Trump, ardent anti-LGBT, has signed a memorandum this Friday which bans transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military. He, however, has given the armed forces leeway in their implementation of the policies.
The memorandum was signed on Friday specifically restricting transgender individuals with a proven history of gender dysphoria, with a secondary definition specifically for those who require medical treatment and surgery to maintain the balance between the gender assigned at birth and the gender they are now. These people are disqualified from military service except under specific limited circumstances. According to the memorandum, this rule is in order to make the military force the best the world has ever seen with well-established mental and physical health standards.
Trump, however, had initially said on twitter in July that the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruptions that transgender military would entail”. In an attempt to prevent the violation of the right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution, a number of federal judges have put up rulings blocking Trump’s ban. The Pentagon has also said it would continue to act in accordance with federal law.
White House Defense Secretary Jim Mattis added that he had found that individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are a risk to military effectiveness. However, those already serving with this history would be allowed if diagnosed during Obama’s policy. The Democratic National Committee consider this memorandum an insult for the transgender officials who are rendering their services with utmost dignity and serving the U.S. military to make the U.S. a safe haven for its people. And the Human Rights Campaign has condemned it, that it is discriminatory.
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
