President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military has been lifted, but transgender people still aren’t being accepted into any of the branches.
When Trump announced in July 2017 that the military would be burdened with large medical costs and disruption if they allowed transgender individuals to enlist, it was a shock and a disappointment to all who were affected. When the ban was deemed unconstitutional and was blocked by courts, the thought was that transgender recruits could start enlisting Jan. 1. However, most transgender individuals are still not being chosen to enlist due to the excuse of “medical issues.”
The ban formed after a fight broke out on Capitol Hill over whether taxpayer money should pay for gender transition and hormone therapy for transgender service members. Instead of dealing with the issue and attempting to form a solution, Trump hastily put in place the ban to bar all transgender people from the military. It would make it impossible for them to enlist and even harder for trans people already in the military to stay in their positions.
Most transgender individuals hoping to join the military are mentally and physically stable. They also lead normal lives and rarely have issues being transgender. A 2016 study by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit think tank, concluded that allowing transgender people to serve in the military would “have minimal impact on readiness and health care costs” for the Pentagon, as already shown by the more than 15,000 transger people serving in the military today.
In March, the Trump administration tried to put a ban in place again that would not discharge those serving but would prevent any others from enlisting unless they registered with their birth-assigned sex.
LGBTQ activists are using the hashtag #TransBanTweetUp to talk about Trump’s continued efforts to bar transgender people from the military. Aside from LGBTQ activists and organizations pushing back on the ban through this hashtag, lawmakers have also spoken up on the rights of transgender troops.
The challenges facing transgender troops are all too similar to the issue of women serving in front-line combat, which up until three years ago was not allowed. Even today, women in the military still encounter significant gender biases. There are modifications to performance standards that create the perception that women are not doing as well as men. While the number of female service members in combat arms positions is small, it is still a big step towards equality in the military. This will hopefully pave the way for more enlistments of transgender troops in the near future.
Until then, equally qualified transgender people are on the sidelines, still somewhat banned from a position they would be honored to fill because of unreasonable prejudice among our nation’s leaders.
Charlotte Caldwell is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Charlotte? Email her at cc670717@ohio.edu.
