Transgender Ban

Daniel Schultz, Treasurer|January 2, 2018

On the 26th of July, President Donald Trump sent a series of three tweets that defined his next order as President. The tweets, in bottom to top order, are listed below:

Then, on August 25, President Trump made good on his statement and signed an executive order to ban transgenders in any and all military form. The President gave a memo to the Pentagon which gives them six-months to implement this new order, going into effect as early as March 23rd, 2018.

In the memo, the President gave direct order to ban transgender individuals from openly serving in the United States Military.

In addition, the memo reads: “In my judgment, the previous Administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating the Department’s’ longstanding policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources, and there remain meaningful concerns that further study is needed to ensure that continued implementation of last year’s policy change would not have those negative effects.”

As of now, the transgender members who are currently serving in the military are permitted to keep their positions while the Pentagon drafts the new laws.

In addition, this executive order has specific instructions about transgender servicepeople in the military now. Those who are still in their gender reassignment surgeries will be permitted to finish to protect the health of the individual. Those who are waiting for their surgeries have been denied.

In the next six-months as the Pentagon is drafting a way to implement the executive order there is room to keep certain transgender individuals in the military. Different factors will determine if the people can keep their job.

Since the announcement, many groups stated strong opposition to the ban, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was apart of that opposition. They are, filing a lawsuit against President Trump’s Administration on behalf of transgenders individuals in the armed forces. Their lawsuit argues, “[T]hat the ban violates the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and substantive due process by singling out transgender individuals for unequal and discriminatory treatment.”

Around the country different communities have viewed the ban differently. Utah is a majority red state, but in Park City there is a large group of people who do not support President Trump. One particular group is the Park City High School Gay Straight Alliance (GSA).

In an interview, we asked GSA President Faith Staley about the legitimacy of President Trump’s main claim for the ban: the monetary cost for transgender surgeries. Ms. Staley critiqued the argument, stating, “The health care costs for transgender people are insignificant compared to the overall military spending. The goal of this was to alienate and discourage transgender people, and to deny them as much as possible the right to public existence.”

Ms. Staley also commented on the Trump Administration’s position towards the LGBTQ community, explaining, “[I]t’s a bit hard to show your support [for the LGBTQ community] when your Vice President is an outspoken proponent for gay conversion therapy, you’ve launched a discriminatory campaign on the transgender population, and your political party doesn’t generally support civil rights in the first place.”

At printing, the local Utah Veterans Administration Hospital (V.A.) could not be reached for direct comment, however, Military.com issued a statement from the national V.A. system..

The V.A. seemed to oppose the President’s ban; V.A. Secretary David Sulkin had this to say after Trump had tweeted about the ban, “Once a person signs up to defend our country, they have to know that the V.A. is there and committed to them through the end of their life.”

Sulkin also stated, “I think that it’s important that veterans know that the V.A. is a safe place to get their care, that we value and respect the dignity of all our veterans, and we are not going to change our commitment or our mission to any veteran who chooses to get their services in the V.A.” But this begs the question on what the V.A. is going to do once the Pentagon finishes the new rules and regulations for transgenders in the military. At this point, those questions are unanswered.

Senator Tammy Ducksworth of Illinois spoke out against President Trump’s ban. As a combat veteran she had a perspective that many government officials lack: military experience “When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter after I was shot down, I didn’t care if the American troops risking their lives to help save me were gay, straight, transgender, black, white or brown. All that mattered was they didn’t leave me behind. If you are willing to risk your life for our country and you can do the job, you should be able to serve—no matter your gender identity or sexual orientation. Anything else is not just discriminatory, it is disruptive to our military and it is counterproductive to our national security.”

President Trump’s claims is that transgender individuals disrupt the military and are ineffective for the overall goal of victory. Senator Ducksworth, as a veteran, would disagree. Staley had her own, “[W]hat compels [the Administration] to deny patriots the right to serve their country?” This might be the most important question, one that needs an immediate answer.

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