Tag: transgender military

The American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association both say the report from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that recommends banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military “misrepresents” current healthcare treatment for trans folks.

From The Washington Examiner:

The Pentagon’s claim that the scientific evidence is at best “unclear” for treatment of gender dysphoria, the condition of being unhappy in your current gender, and that treatment may not relieve serious risks such as suicide is not the current medical consensus, according to the American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association.

“That’s really not true and it’s certainly not true among the actual experts who treat these people,” said Dr. Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who is a distinguished fellow at the American Psychiatric Association. “We shouldn’t assume just because somebody has a psychiatric diagnosis that they are not able to function and there is no reason to believe, based on what we know of people who have gotten treatment for their gender dysphoria, that they are any different.

“If people get treatment for their gender dysphoria, then they are doing fine,” he said.

Mattis’ report issued last month basically bans anyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria or anyone who is undergoing hormone therapy/gender reassignment surgery from enlisting in the armed forces.

Mattis’ plan allows for current trans service members to remain on active duty as long as they don’t require treatment.

The proposed policy change remains on hold due to four separate federal courts which have ruled the new policy unconstitutional.

More than 20 retired generals and admirals are opposing the latest version of President Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military in a new statement Tuesday.

“The administration’s announcement on the treatment of transgender service members is a troubling move backward,” the 26 officers wrote in their statement via the Palm Center, which researches issues of gender and sexuality.

“There is simply no reason to single out brave transgender Americans who can meet military standards and deny them the ability to serve.”

More from The Hill:

In their statement Tuesday, the retired officers argue the new policy is similar to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which banned gays and lesbians from serving until Congress repealed it.

“Many of us personally experienced the belated removal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and faced firsthand how that mistaken policy set back our force and enabled discrimination against patriotic gay and lesbian Americans,” they said. “We learned a clear lesson: the singling out of one group of service members for unequal treatment harms military readiness, while inclusion supports it.”

Transgender troops who are able to serve under the new policy, they continued, would do so “under a false presumption of unsuitability,” not be able to receive needed medical care and will live in “constant fear” of being discharged.

“We should not return to the days of forcing men and women to hide in the shadows and serve their country without institutional support,” the officers said. “This deprives the military of trained and skilled service members, which harms readiness and morale.”

In his report, Defense Secretary Mattis recommended banning most transgender soldiers except under three specific criteria:

• If they have not had gender dysphoria for 36 months

• If they have been diagnosed after entering service but do not need to transition gender

• If they are currently serving troops who came out and are receiving treatment since the ban on their service was first lifted in 2016.

Trump’s new policy is currently stalled from going into effect as four separate federal courts have issued injunctions against the ban calling the new policy unconstitutional.

Donald Trump issued filed a memorandum in U.S. District Court tonight that seeks to ban transgender troops from serving in the military except in select cases — following through on a random tweet last year that has been under review by the Pentagon and fought out in the courts.

Yes, kids, President Bone Spurs tried this before and four courts and two circuit courts have stopped this foolishness.

Via the White House:

Among other things, the policies set forth by the Secretary of Defense state that transgender persons with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service except under certain limited circumstances.

Even beyond the courts, military experts have concluded that the cost of providing treatment to trans troops would be minimal.

Defense Secretary Mattis says he came to this recommendation after convening a months-long study that took input from transgender service members and medical professionals, but in fact, the American Medical Association in 2015 came out against banning transgender people in the armed forces.

It’s also important to note that there are thousands of trans soldiers currently serving with distinction in the U.S. military. No one who is not as qualified as any other applicant is currently serving.

LGBT advocacy groups were quick to respond.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-Pence Administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops. Donald Trump and Mike Pence are pushing their extreme anti-transgender prejudices onto the military over the overwhelming objections of bipartisan officials, national security leaders and the American public. We will never stop fighting this discriminatory policy until every current and future transgender service member is treated equally and respected fully for their bravery.

From the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

“This is exactly the discriminatory, categorical ban that four federal courts have already barred from going forward. This is just the sort of baseless attack on dedicated service members we have come to expect from this administration, and we will continue to fight this shameful ban vigorously in federal court.”

Tomorrow, 15,000 transgender troops—including those serving in war zones around the world—will wake up to news that their Commander in Chief fired them for who they are in the middle of the night. These troops & their families deserve better than this injustice & cowardice.

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) March 24, 2018

As a veteran who served on active duty, we focused on the mission. We didn’t care if you were transgender, bald, gay, or had freckles. No evidence a trans sniper is less accurate or a trans pilot is less effective.

Stupid bigotry from @realDonaldTrump.#ProtectTransTroops https://t.co/dCKzfhYtjV

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 24, 2018

#California will take every measure available to prevent @realdonaldtrump‘s discriminatory action that harms or marginalizes transgender servicemembers — or any other transgender Americans who wish to courageously defend our nation. https://t.co/XmgpajcGRF

— Xavier Becerra (@AGBecerra) March 24, 2018

The Pentagon has confirmed that the first transgender person has signed a contract to join the US military, a development made possible after a federal judge ruled that the military must accept transgender recruits.

CNN reports:

“The Department of Defense confirms that as of February 23, 2018, there is one transgender individual under contract for service in the US Military,” Maj. Dave Eastburn told CNN.

The individual has met all the standards for serving in the military and signed a contract but has not yet begun basic training.

As you may recall, Trump surprised many last summer when he tweeted, “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 went on to blame “the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail” for the reasoning behind his decision.

It was later revealed he had not consulted with the heads of our armed forces.

This past Friday, Defense Secretary Mattis delivered his recommendations to the President regarding the future of transgender service members.

“We are waiting for the President to make a decision based on the Secretary’s recommendation,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning told reporters Monday.

Earlier today I reported that several civil rights groups ran a full-page ad in USA Today calling on Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to “not to put their politics ahead of our troops” and reverse the transgender military ban.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today, the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, OutServe-SLDN, American Military Partner Association, and Gender Justice League published a full-page USA Today ad featuring leading military, national security and bipartisan officials who agree with the majority of Americans that the Trump-Pence Administration’s ban on transgender troops is wrong and hurts military readiness. The ad encourages the vast majority of Americans who oppose the Trump-Pence Administration’s effort to ban up to 15,000 active duty transgender troops to call the White House and demand they put our military readiness and brave servicemembers ahead of politics.

The advertisement reads, “Military leaders, national security officials, bipartisan lawmakers in Congress and a majority of Americans oppose the Trump-Pence ban on transgender troops, which would hurt military readiness. Tell Donald Trump and Mike Pence not to put their politics ahead of our troops. Call the White House: 202-456-1414.”

Making clear the bipartisan opposition to the ban, the ad features quotes from Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Richard Shelby (R-AL); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford; Former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus; Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; Former Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning; Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James; and General Martin Dempsey.

Bolding is mine.

As I reported over the weekend, Defense Secretary James Mattis delivered his recommendations on transgender soldiers in the military to Donald Trump on Friday evening. Political insiders say Mattis is expected to support allowing trans soldiers to continue serving in the U.S. armed forces.

One more time – Call the White House at 202-456-1414 and leave a message saying you agree with the majority of Americans that transgender soldiers who are willing and able to serve the country they love should have that right.

Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade is reporting that Defense Secretary James Mattis did indeed deliver his recommendation to Donald Trump regarding transgender military service members.

Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesperson, confirmed Mattis had delivered his recommendation to Trump, but wasn’t forthcoming about the next steps.

“The White House has received the Department of Defense’s recommendations on transgender personnel in the military,” Gidley said. “It is currently under review.”

Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesperson, said late Friday the “secretary made his recommendation to the White House this morning.”

The recommendation was due Wednesday in correspondence with a directive Trump issued in August banning transgender military service. Mattis was initially scheduled to meet with Trump on Tuesday for lunch, but that was cancelled due to scheduling conflict. The recommendation had to wait until Friday.

Officials wouldn’t disclose the nature of Mattis’ recommendation to Trump. According to multiple media reports, Mattis was expected to advise Trump transgender people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.