Trump Bans Transgender People From Serving in the Military
As many of you may have heard, President Donald Trump recently announced on July 26, 2017, on twitter that the U.S. government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. This is shocking and frustrating news for everyone to consume. Below are the links to tweets Trump tweeted that explained the change he put forward...
Tweets-
With just a flash of a tweet, Trump banned transgender individuals completely in the U.S. military. Although gay marriage was recently legalized in 2015, along with more rights for the LGBT community, this crosses the line for rights for everyone.
Although this announcement is very sudden and tragic to some, this wasn't always the plan. When Obama was still in presidency last year, the Defense Apartment approved the policy of allowing transgender citizens to openly serve in the U.S military. This plan was then delayed by Defense Secretary James Mattis, who wanted to "negotiate a six-month extension to the original July 1 deadline." All transgender individuals were suppose to be allowed to join the military, but getting delayed last month changed the whole situation.
This snap decision made by Donald Trump effects both current and registering soldiers. According to Pentagon officials who told the Associated press in June, in the year since the ban was repealed, around 250 service members have applied to change their gender in the military's personnel system. This makes a huge decrease in individuals in the military. And as of incoming soldiers, more people may want to come out as transgender, but no longer are able to serve due to Trumps decision. In addition, according to a RAND research study in 2016, there were roughly to be "1,320 to 6,630 active transgender service members before the ban was lifted last year, and another approximately 1,500 on reserve." For people LGBT community there will be any controversial sides and protests for this event.
The health care aspect of this is that a study commissioned by the Defense Department came to a result that letting transgender people serve openly as their true self would have a "minimal impact" on readiness and health care costs, mostly due to the so few in the military's 1.3 million-member.
Everyone has different opinions on this topic and many rallies and protests are sprouting from this. The military is definitely changed from this snap decision made by Donald Trump. What side do you stand on and what is your opinion on this?
Below are links and videos that further explain his tweets, the effects of the snap decision, the health care effects and more.
Links for more information-
*some links include videos*
Questions for discussion-
- What do you think a transgender solider in the military thinks of this? How about someone who was going to join the military as transgender?
- Do you think this was a military decision or a decision made by President Trump and his own opinions?
- Do you agree with Trumps decision? If so why or why not?
- Do you think Trump made the right decision of banning transgender soldiers? If it is the right decision, how does it help the military?
- What do you think will happen to the transgender soldiers already in the military?
It seems that much time does not pass between every controversial new story appearing in the media. As expected, what turned out to be a major announcement surfaced on Trump's twitter on Wednesday morning. According to our President, transgender Americans would no longer be allowed to serve in the military. While this issue does spark a lot of uncertainty, and I, myself, also am sometimes unsure of my opinions on these complex topics, in this instance I can not say that I agree with Trump's statement. It is not only the obvious new change that does not sit right with me, but the nature, methods, and situation in which this change emerged.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, Trump's exact words were these: "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the U.S. 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." It appears that Trump's foremost reason behind this ban is the medical costs of transgender people. However, further research has come to show me that, even in the most extreme scenario, it is predicted that transgender members would only increase health care spending by .13 percent ($8.4 million out of $6.2 billion), as found in an article by Washington Post. Even the American Medical Association stated that "there is no medically valid reason to exclude transgender individuals from military service." Continuing, I, personally, do not remember last year's acceptance of transgenders into the military as a particular event. It might just be me, but I do not recall it as especially publicized news or something that really caused a stir. However, this new ban on these people has swept across numerous social media platforms, websites, news outlets, and many more places where it has been broadcast across the country. My point is, was allowing Transgenders into the military the real disturbance here? I can not speak for the situation as it is experienced by the members of the military themselves, but I can speak from my point of view and say that this event has created more chaos and negative feedback than its forerunner. From this information, I am deducing that Trump's reasoning behind his transgenders-in-the-military ban is not quite as sound as he makes it seem.
Also, this new side of our President's beliefs is actually quite different from his words and actions during his campaign. On June 14, 2016, Trump tweeted "Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs." Setting aside others in the White House, Trump, himself, seems to be the one acting in ways that could be interpreted as threatening towards the transgender community. Many were not pleased that neither Trump nor his White House "acknowledged" LGBT Pride Month, but recent circumstances have caused an even larger uproar. It seems to some that Trump only stated what he knew his listeners wanted to hear during his campaign. Others deem it something that should be expected from a politician, especially from one in a neck-to-neck race for President. However, I still do not see how this justifies Trump's behavior. Trump has contradicted himself, and I do not agree with the idea of manipulating a community that trusts you to gain popularity and votes. Without any intentions to truly follow through on promises, specifically in light of the recent years' huge emergence of and support for LGBTQ people, these empty words will only sow even more distrust and, ironically, unpopularity.
DeleteAnother issue with this topic that struck me was the informality of the announcement. Rather than make an official statement or relay this information in the common method, Trump once again turned to Twitter. Apparently, I am not the only one to have seen something wrong with this scenario. Senator John McCain said that Trump's tweets were "yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter. Senator Lindsey Graham said that he wanted "a hearing about" this matter, "not a tweet". Yet another Senator, Ron Wyden, criticized the President for "making national security policy by tweet". The events to follow this ban will affect thousands of transgender military hopefuls, reserves, and possibly even active troops, and I believe that the communication from the government's side did not pay them enough respect or courtesy.
Even overlooking the aspect of this news involving the ban of transgender participation in the military (although I also do not agree with it), I still find fault in Trump's demeanor and methods of operation as our President.
Recently, Donald Trump has released a statement through Twitter that says transgender people will no longer be allowed to serve in the military. There has been much debate over this recent change. For starters, I agree with Julia when she says that a tweet is an inappropriate way to handle such a controversial piece of information. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, called the president out for “making national security policy by tweet.” Trump should have released a formal statement in detail from the White House, instead of sending Sarah Huckabee Sanders out to a press conference to try and answer questions without clear answers. When asked about how the administration would deal with transgender people already deployed and serving, she said “implementation is something that the Department of Defense and the White House have to work together to lawfully determine." It also seems that the President didn’t alert the Defense Department that he would tweet, since they released a more formal statement on the issue more than an hour later than when his tweet posted. Why would Trump personally tweet this controversial material instead of wait for the Defense Department to release an official statement? Was it his intent to create a dramatic reaction?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that any soldier who is loyal and offers their service should be allowed into the military. Especially with the growing tensions with North Korea, I believe we need all the help we can get. I agree with Democrat Dan Kildee of Michigan when he says, “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.”
I understand the point of Trump’s tweet when he says “disruption,” however I would not use such a harsh or disrespectful term. If a male were to sleep in the same barrak as a transgender male, both might feel slightly uncomfortable. I get that, but part of being in the military is the ability to adapt to different uncomfortable situations. In a way, that uneasy feeling could help the soldiers get used to being out of their comfort zone. If people who are transgender and people who aren't learn to rely on each other during war and for survival, then the outlook on transgender individuals could change for the better. Instead of being viewed as different, they could be viewed equally as heros. Sadly, Trump made the chance of their acceptance in the military and in society more impossible. Keep in mind that transgender people used to be accepted in the military. Ken Ochoa, a transgender drill sergeant for the United States Army, spoke about how drill sergeants are looked up to by the soldiers, and set the expectations for how the army will be for new soldiers. As a drill sergeant, there are different hats that must be worn depending on gender. He hopes one day in the future to wear the male-style hat, since he must currently wear the female-style. Trump hasn’t released yet if transgender soldiers already in the service will continue to serve. If they are allowed to stay, then the acceptance of their transition in databases will be a whole new question. During the Obama Administration, “roughly 250 service members have applied to change their gender in the military's personnel system” (The Pentagon). Will they allow Ken to associate as a male at his station and wear the male-style hat or will he remain a female in the databases?
“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," is what Donald Trump’s second and third tweets stated. According to the RAND Corporation, it would cost from 2.4-8.4 million dollars to provide transgender related- services to soldiers. The Department of Defense's health care budget is around 49.3 billion (in 2014). Although I don’t believe that the military should pay for transgender surgeries, to say they are a tremendous cost is unjustified. An eye-opening chart to show how little that amount is in regards to the budget is on CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/26/politics/trump-military-transgender/index.html).
ReplyDeleteLastly, Trump claimed in 2016 that he would be better to the LGBT community than Hillary Clinton would be. "I will tell you who the better friend is and some day I believe that will be proven out big league," Trump said in reference to himself. After the attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Trump also preached his support for the LGBT community. It seems that his past efforts were just for votes, since he turned against the LGBT community recently. People serve in the military for many reasons. Some of these being for discipline, searching for a purpose or identity, or demonstrating their love for this country. By not letting LGBT people serve in the military, Trump is taking away life-changing emotional searches for identity, and is making it harder for some LGBT people to find a place that will accept them in a world that is already mostly against them.
President Trump's decision on banning transgender soldiers from the military is an offense against transgender soldiers willing to put their lives at stake and is a rude gesture towards the LGBT community in general. An American, regardless of sexual orientation, should be welcomed into the military as a fellow soldier, as he/she is strengthening the American armed forces. Gregory T. Angelo, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay conservatives, replied to the policy change saying Trump's " statement this morning does a disservice to transgender military personnel and re-introduces the same hurtful stereotypes conjured when openly gay men and women were barred from service."
ReplyDeleteHis direct assault on transgender soldiers also decreases the military and fires many hardworking transgender individuals. As claimed by the RAND research study, there are approximately 1,320 to 6,630 transgender service members, with another 1,500 on the reserve. There should be no need to dismantle the military when there is no reason to do so. He states that the U.S. military "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail", however the costs and disruption he speaks of are very little. Gender-change surgery is rare enough, and according to another RAND survey, the cost would only range from $2.4 to $8.4 million, which is small in the face of total health care expenditures. President Trump says that he supports the LGBT community, however, it does not seem like he truly does except members as part of our modern America.