Last week, the WORST thing that could happen for the Transgender community, happened.
First was President Donald Trump taking to Twitter to announce a full reinstatement of the ban on transgender individuals serving in ANY CAPACITY in the armed forces of the United States.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-announces-that-he-will-ban-transgender-people-from-serving-in-the-military/2017/07/26/6415371e-723a-11e7-803f-a6c989606ac7_story.html?utm_term=.0c5afaccd3cb
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
....Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming.....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
....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
Donald Trump cites that "the military cannot accept the burden of higher medical costs and the “disruption” that transgender troops “would entail.”
Actual costs are estimated between $2.6 million and $8.4 million per year for transgender healthcare, which includes gender reassignment surgeries, breast implants, penile implants, hormone therapy and gender identity therapy.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cost-of-medical-care-for-transgender-service-members-would-be-minimal-studies-show/
To state that there is a burden there is completely and unequivocally FALSE.
The US Government gives out millions of dollars in cash enlistment bonuses AND GI Bill benefits in return for those wishing to serve. I won't minimize the importance of education, but let's face the fact that there are NO stipulations of any kind on how the GI Bill benefits are spent. The service member receives a check in the mail and how they spend it is their business. With no stipulations, there's no standard set for fraud. It's their money.
I've heard many first hand accounts of veterans spending their GI Bill on vacations, home remodeling, cars and performance parts, furniture, a down payment on a new house and a myriad of other things that this money truly never was intended to go towards. There is no accountability with this money, so using Donald Trump's own logic that he tweeted out, is this not financially BURDENSOME to the US Government? This is after all, taxpayers dollars at work and as taxpayers we have a RIGHT to know how this money is being spent and that it is being spent on what it was intended for.
Another argument I've heard is "I don't want my taxpayer's dollars going towards these surgeries". Well, ok then...often times when a person enlists in the military, the US Government offers them a choice of either a cash enlistment bonus or GI Bill benefits to be used towards college. Enlisted members use that cash for whatever they want. A new home, a car, pay off debt, strip clubs, pornography, vacations, cruises and some just blow it all on useless junk, alcohol and who knows what else, but no one has a problem with that. It's only a "problem", when someone wants to use it for gender reassignment surgery...then suddenly it's the biggest issue on the table.
Yet another argument I've heard is "They [transgender individuals] only want to join to get their surgeries." Ok, so? People join the military for a multitude of reasons. I myself, wanted to get away from the town I grew up in. I hated it there. I wanted out. The military was a way out. Others want the cash enlistment bonus. Others want the GI Bill benefits so they can go to college. Nothing in this world is FREE. Most people always wants something in exchange for a good or service. It's the way the world works and there's nothing wrong with that.
You don't go to work every day because you feel like you should, you go to work to collect a paycheck in exchange for your time and dedication so you can support your lifestyle and pursue the things you love. In addition to this, you might also feel a sense of "contributing to the economy and workforce" by doing your part. Many military service members feel a sense of duty and patriotism to their country to serve and that's all fine and noble, but I have yet to hear of any service member ever turning down a cash enlistment bonus or GI Bill benefits (it's very plausible it has happened), let alone their paycheck out of sheer "patriotism".
The narrative in Washington is to "Drain the Swamp". Well, if it is to be drained, then drain the whole thing, don't just do it half-assed and attack a group of people under a false pretense to justify banning them from military service to self-serve your own bigoted agenda.
Even more troubling is that fact that General Mattis had ordered a six month study on the effects of transgender individuals serving in the military and that report was not due until December of this year. Why did Trump feel the need to "tweet" this news out, when a study was under way?
LGBTQNation.com speculates that it was to support funding for his new border wall.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/07/trump-sold-transgender-troops-win-funding-miles-border-wall/
The good news here is that this WILL NOT go uncontested. I expect opposition at every turn by the ACLU, members of the Senate and House.
Rep. Scott Peters has filed legislation to block Trump's ban
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-peters-trump-military-trans-ban_us_5978b642e4b0e201d57a591f?section=us_queer-voices&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=qv_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000050
Many other politicians on both sides of the political spectrum have voiced their support for the continuation of transgender military personnel serving in our armed forces.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/07/republicans-giving-trump-finger-supporting-transgender-rights/
And finally, 56 retired Generals and Admirals have issued a statement that military readiness would be negatively impacted if this ban were to be implemented.
http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/assets/resources/56_Generals_and_Admirals_Warn_Trump.pdf
At this point in time, it is unclear what will in fact happen next. The President's tweet is NOT a law, it is not a directive, it is not a lawful order. He will have to sign and issue an executive order for it to become official, which he has yet to do. Once he does, I suspect it will face stiff opposition across the board.
What does this mean for the 15,000 estimated transgender military personnel currently serving? No one really knows. Will they be discharged from service? Will they be allowed to continue serving until their enlistment period is over? Will they be grandfathered in?
One could argue that if a service member can be punished for breaching his/her contract and court-martialed, then in the event that were discharged from service, that would constitute breach of contract on behalf of the US Government and could open themselves up to a myriad of lawsuits and legal challenges. However, it does say in your contract you can't sue the US Government and you give up all your rights to become property of the US Government to use as they desire. Very interesting legal questions arise out of this indeed.
