Trump Says Transgender People Will Not Be Allowed in the US Military, by Libby Hill.
President Trump announced Wednesday via Twitter that he had decided to reverse the Obama administration’s decision to allow transgender people to serve openly in the armed forces.
“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,” the president tweeted.
A 2016 study commissioned by the Pentagon found that Obama’s decision could increase military medical spending anywhere from $2.4 million to $8.4 million annually, a 0.13% increase over current medical spending.
Some celebs were incensed by Trump’s decision, taking to their own social media accounts to voice both their fury and support for the trans community.
Mr. Trump made the surprise declaration in a series of posts on Twitter, saying he had come to the decision after talking to generals and military experts, whom he did not name.
The sweeping policy decision was met with surprise at the Pentagon, outrage from advocacy groups and praise from social conservatives. It reverses the gradual transformation of the military under President Barack Obama, whose administration announced last year that transgender people could serve openly in the military. …
The shift was announced with such haste that the White House could not answer basic inquiries about how it would be implemented. Chief among those questions was what would happen to the thousands of openly transgender people currently serving on active duty. …
The policy would affect only a small portion of the approximately 1.3 million active-duty members of the military. About 2,450 are transgender, according to a study last year by the RAND Corporation, though the estimated number of transgender service members has varied.
Transgender Navy SEAL slams Trump for banning servicemembers: ‘Let’s meet face to face and you tell me I’m not worthy’, by Christopher Brennan.
Beck was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal during her time in the service, when she kept her gender identity a secret, according to a 2015 profile in GQ. …
“Being transgender doesn’t affect anyone else,” she said, adding that “I defended for Republicans. I defended for Democrats. I defended for everyone.”
Beck, who became a voice for transgender servicemembers to several media outlets Wednesday, added that she does not approve of the flippant way that Trump announced his decision on social media.
“There are a hundred different ways to make an announcement that are better than a tweet. It blindsided millions of people. It’s disrespectful,” she told CNN.
