White House bans transgender troops
DONALD TRUMP has banned most transgender troops from serving in the US military except under “limited circumstances”.
The White House said retaining troops with a history or diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” – those who may require substantial medical treatment – “presents considerable risk to military effectiveness”.
Mr Trump surprised the US military leadership in a 2017 tweet when he declared he would reverse a Barack Obama-era plan to allow transgender individuals to serve openly.
His push for the ban has been blocked by several legal challenges, and four federal courts have ruled against it.
The Pentagon responded by allowing those serving to stay in the military, and began allowing transgender individuals to enlist beginning Jan 1.
“This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards – including those regarding the use of medical drugs – equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. The new policy was promptly assailed by congressional Democrats and civil rights groups.
Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, said: “This hateful ban is purposebuilt to humiliate our brave transgender members of the military who serve with honour and dignity.”
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBT civil rights organisation, said: “There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-
‘This new policy will enable the military to apply established health standards’
Pence administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops.”
There are an estimated 15,000 transgender troops among America’s approximately 1.3million active service members.
There are some exceptions. People who have a history of gender dysphoria in the past will be allowed to join the military if they “can demonstrate 36 consecutive months of stability – absence of gender dysphoria – immediately preceding their application”.