Yesterday, the Trump Misadministration hasimposeda hatefultransphobicdirective that bans trans troops from serving in the military in their preferred gender under most circumstances, instead forcing them to serve in their birth gender, as of April 12th, 2019.
This ban will hurt military readiness, plain and simple!
Adolfo Flores at BuzzFeed News:
The Trump administration approved a policy Tuesday requiring most transgender troops and military recruits serve in the gender they were assigned at birth and barring them from transitioning to another sex.
The directive from the Defense Department falls short of a total ban on trans people serving in the military, but says new and existing service members will have only 30 days to qualify for gender transition, after which transgender people will not be allowed to enlist or receive medical treatment, unless they’re exempt.
Under the rules, transgender troops and recruits who enlist prior to April 12, 2019 and were either qualified for military service in their preferred gender or as a service member received a diagnosis of "gender dysphoria" can go forward with medical treatments for their transition. Military secretaries can also grant waivers to transgender people in whole or in part to the new requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Tom Vanden Brook at USA Today:
Implementation of the policy, pushed by President Donald Trump, had been delayed by court challenges. Currently serving troops who have been treated for gender dysphoria will be allowed to continue serving.
Transgender troops must serve in their sex at birth, and must file for waivers for use of showers, bathrooms, physical fitness and other standards, according to the policy, signed by David Norquist, the number two civilian official at the Pentagon.
[...]
The new policy, however, does not allow special accommodation for incoming troops' gender dysphoria. That condition is recognized in medicine as resulting from the conflict between physical gender and gender identity. The American Medical Association and other major medical and psychiatric organizations have stated that gender dysphoria should not disqualify troops from serving.
USA TODAY has reported that the Pentagon has provided about $8 million in medical and psychological treatment to more than 1,500 transgender troops since July 1, 2016. The previous ban on service from transgender troops was lifted at that time. The Pentagon annually spends about $50 billion on health care.
Chris Johnson at Washington Blade:
With court orders barring President Trump from enforcing his transgender military ban out of the way, the Defense Department late Tuesday unveiled its plan to make the policy a reality, announcing it would begin April 12.
A 15-page memo signed by David Norquirst, who’s performing the duties of deputy secretary of defense, spells out the timeline, procedures and potential exemptions for implementing the plan ordered by Trump and created by former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
As stated on the first page of the memo, the new policy “is effective April 12, 2019.” On the date, the policy of open transgender service as implemented June 30, 2016 during the Obama administration will come to an end after nearly three years.
The memo takes great pains to demonstrate the policy isn’t a ban because it allows transgender people to enlist, provided they have no diagnosis of gender dysphoria and are willing to serve in their biological sex.
“When a standard, requirement, or policy depends on whether the individual is a male or a female (e.g., medical fitness for duty; physical fitness and body fat standards; berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities; and uniform and grooming standards), all persons will be subject to the standard, requirement or policy associated with their biological sex,” the memo says.
The memo also includes an exemption to the ban in certain circumstances. These cases include a transgender person with gender dysphoria who enters into a contract to enlist before the new policy takes effect and has remained stable in their gender identity for 18 months.
“A history of gender dysphoria is disqualifying, unless, as certified by a licensed mental health provider, the applicant has been stable without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning for 18 months,” the memo says.
As outlined in the Mattis plan last year, that provision would suggest transgender people in the military who came out during the current policy would be able to stay in the armed forces.
David Badash at The New Civil Rights Movement:
While the memo, published by The Washington Blade, says that all service members and applicants "must be treated with dignity and respect," the goal behind the plan, as the President stated, is to ban all transgender troops.
The directive "will likely force the military to eventually discharge transgender individuals who need hormone treatments or surgery and can’t or won’t serve in their birth gender," the AP reports.
After one month from today, on April 12, the Pentagon will refuse to accept any new recruit with gender dysphoria who is currently on a hormone treatment or has already transitioned. Also after April 12, currently enlisted troops with gender dysphoria will be forced to serve in their "birth gender" and will be barred from taking hormones or transitioning.
This directive is a nakedly transphobic travesty to ban trans troops from serving in the military in their gender matching their identity! #NoTransBan #ProtectTransTroops