President Donald Trump tweeted today that transgender people would not be allowed to serve in the military, because of the high medical costs they incur, the New York Times reports.
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
As much as this ban itself may be a distraction from other presidential matters—replacing Obamacare, a Russia investigation, and so on—the statement itself has troubled many people, judging from the comments posted on newspaper articles about the decision, which Defense Secretary Jim Mattis found out about only a day in advance.
Furthermore, Mr Trump’s reference to “my” generals is equally troubling. Military personnel serve on behalf of all Americans, not at the pleasure or whim of the president.
I suppose what troubled me most about the decision was the idea that any group may be next. I’m not sure how much money the military spends on healthcare for transgender people, and I’m not sure how much, on a percentage basis, their presence in our fighting forces is disruptive, but who will be next? What group will be banned next from volunteering to serve?
News continues to traipse all over the wire when it comes to transgender students using bathrooms in schools according to their gender identity, not their biological sex.
A federal district court heard arguments on Monday of this week in Pennsylvania. Students from the Boyertown Area Senior High School are suing the school over its transgender bathroom policy, Penn Live reports.
A plaintiff in the case, a high school girl, testified that she had walked into a girls’ bathroom and saw a male student standing near the sink. “I saw the reflection of a male student standing at the sink washing their hands,” she was quoted as testifying. “I didn’t know what to do. I was in shock for a moment … I ran away.”
Her lawyer asked her if she had any objections to lesbians using the girls’ bathroom. “Absolutely not,” she answered. The same applies to transgender students, “as long as they’re the same sex as me. I should be able to use the one marked ‘girls’ and expect that only girls will be in there. My privacy was violated. The school didn’t protect me.”