The Trump administration released two documents on Friday outlining the president’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. While LGBTQ-rights advocates say this new measure is even more discriminatory than the now-defunct “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, they also note that recent court rulings prevent the ban from actually taking effect.
The administration's first document, a memo signed by the president, stated 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."
The second document, titled “Department of Defense Report and Recommendations on Military Service by Transgender Persons,” lays out the specific policy recommendations regarding trans individuals serving U.S. military. The 46-page report stated that the department had concluded "accommodating gender transition could impair unit readiness," "undermine unit cohesion" and "lead to disproportionate costs."
“This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards — including those regarding the use of medical drugs — equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen," the White House said in a statement released on Friday.
The new report states “nothing in this policy precludes service by transgender persons who do not have a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria and are willing and able to meet all standards that apply to their biological sex.”
Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), disagreed, claiming such a policy constitutes a "categorical ban" of transgender people from the military by requiring service members to live as their sex assigned at birth.
“It means you can’t be transgender,” Minter said. “This is worse than ‘don't ask, don't tell’ in its justification … It would be as though the government had tried to justify the DADT policy by saying that you can serve in the military if you say you will stop being gay.” Read more via NBC