President Donald J. Trump’s administration is refusing to acknowledge the gender identity of transgender military members. The administration has recommended the Pentagon require transgender people to serve with the gender associated to the sexual anatomy they were born with.
After pressure from Religious Right groups, Trump in July tweeted that “the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.”
In October, a federal court deemed the transgender military ban unconstitutional because it represented a “disapproval of transgender people generally.”
The Pentagon announced a new policy in March that could allow existing transgender troops to remain in the military, but only as long as they agreed to serve under their birth gender.
Transgender rights advocates blasted the new rules.
“There is no evidence to support a policy that bars from military service patriotic Americans who are medically fit and able to deploy,” Aaron Belkin of the Palm Center told The New York Times. “Our troops and our nation deserve better.”
