Transgender Military Ban Approved

Announced on January 22nd of this year, the Supreme Court approved the banning of transgender people serving in the military. This would not only prevent recent members from transitioning, but along with anyone going through gender dysphoria, which causes discomfort to one’s body whose gender identity doesn’t match their biological sex. According to defense secretary Jim Mattis, transgender people can still enlist, but they’d need to identify as their biological sex for 36 consecutive months, and if they’re already serving in the armed forces openly.

This ban was first announced in June 2017 from Trump tweeting, “After a 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 US military. 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.”

While Trump worried about these medical costs, the RAND Corporation studied in 2016 that even though surgical and hormonal treatments cost $2.4 to $8.4 million annually for the Defense Department, it only takes .04% to .01% of its $6 billion budget. This is based on an estimate of 2,150 to 10,790 transgender people who served in the armed forces during this study. It calculated that only 30-140 people seeking hormonal treatment and 25 to 100 people seeking surgical treatment annually.

In response of this ban when it was first announced, several armed forces members and people in the transgender community expressed their opinions and experiences of this matter.

Back in 2017, Sergeant Logan Ireland, who identifies as a transgender man, responds to Air Force Times with, “I would like to see them try to kick me out of my military. You are not going to deny me my right to serve my country when I am fully qualified and able and willing to give my life.”

Nicholas Talbott represented as a plaintiff for the court case Stockman V. Trump, which was the second lawsuit enforced by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), NCLR (National Center for Lesbian Rights), and Equality California on the transgender military ban. He planned to serve as an Airman in the Air Force National Guard to help his grandmother, but feared that he wasn’t able to do so.  “. . . I feared that I would never be permitted to fulfill my longtime dream of military service. Small towns like Lisbon, Ohio—where I live—do not have many job opportunities. I am actively searching for a job where I can support myself and my grandmother who is unwell. Enlisting in the military provides a stable job, steady income, health benefits, and the pride of serving my country.”