Donald Trump Has Banned Transgender People From Joining The US Military
26 July 2017, 15:04 | Updated: 26 July 2017, 15:15
Trump just stripped away the rights of transgender service people in three tweets.
President Donald Trump has just announced that he will ban transgender individuals from joining the U.S military, reversing the decision of the Obama administration to allow transgender people to serve.
Trump announced the decision in three tweets through his twitter account this afternoon citing, "the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."
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
“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “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.”
There has been a huge backlash against the decision online, with people dismayed by Trump reversing the progression of rights for trans military soldiers.
I am deeply ashamed of our president. This is beyond the pale.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) July 26, 2017
We the American people owe our freedoms to the brave men, women, and transgender soldiers serving in our military.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) July 26, 2017
Attacking our trans sisters and brothers in uniform is an attack on us all. This is why the #VetsAgainstTrump movement grows every day pic.twitter.com/2Ha7Rk6drv
— Vets Against Trump (@Vets_Vs_Trump) July 26, 2017
when you elect a bigot you get bigoted results
— Ziwe (@ziwe) July 26, 2017
transgender people show more courage when they leave their fucking houses in the morning than donald trump has shown his entire life
— Matt Bellassai (@MattBellassai) July 26, 2017
trans people are 'too inconvenient' and 'too costly' - what message does this send to countless other institutions and organisations
— shon faye (@shonfaye) July 26, 2017
An estimated 6,000 transgender troops are now serving in the U.S. military. https://t.co/RFcnkRSgt6
— Susan Page (@SusanPage) July 26, 2017
Interestingly, a 2016 study commissioned by the Defense Department contradicts Trumps statement and said transgender people would have a "minimal impact" on readiness and health care costs, mostly because there are so few trans people in the army.
It's estimated that the number of transgender people in the military between 1,320 and 6,630 and it would cost between $2.4 million and $8.4 million for the necessary hormone treatments and gender surgery - an "exceedingly small proportion" of total health care expenditures, the study found.
Trump's decision is yet another huge blow to the trans community under the Trump administration, following his decision to reverse the policy allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice.
