Trump Issues Guidance On Transgender Military Ban, And I Reluctantly Care (A Lot)
Today, Donald Trump is making more moves to ban me from an institution that I am repulsed by: The United States Military. The institution that murdered Jennifer Laude, a Filipino woman who was killed by Private First Class Joseph Scott upon discovery that she was transgender. The institution that removes transgender soldiers when they identify themselves, no matter how decorated, and that has barred our entry for most of its existence because our very lives constitute a disqualifying “psychosexual disorder.” The same United States Military where transgender enlistees face some of the highest rates of rape and other violence, and then receive discharges from service instead of justice. The overwhelming consensus among my transgender friends was to redirect the conversation away from the ban and refocus on the character of the institution that many will now fight, on our behalf, for our inclusion.
To put it plainly, most of us are unfazed at losing our opportunity to serve in a military we don’t respect, especially when that feeling is so clearly mutual. But if we look beyond the obvious disdain, there is something worth asking: Why did this happen? As the Washington Post noted, the stated reasoning of saving money doesn’t make logical sense; the military spends five times as much on Viagra as it would on transgender-related surgeries. It’s not that the GOP doesn’t understand this — of course they do — they just don’t care. The ban on transgender service isn’t about saving money or keeping our country safe in the same way that bathroom bills aren’t about keeping women and children safe. Discriminating against transgender people is popular with the GOP base, and the Democrats’ reactionary support for LGBT equality is enough to keep single-issue Evangelical Christians voting Republican.
This is what the ban on transgender military service means to me — that Drumpf and Republicans are willing to pass bill after bill controlling every aspect of my life because it keeps them from having to pass policies that will make the lives of their constituents better. Things like healthcare reform (or at least the kind that actually saves lives, not kicks 30 million off insurance) and labor protections mean increasing taxes on the rich or at least making substantive moves to remedy income inequality. Republican senators aren’t interested in sacrificing their wealth for the Americans they claim to represent, but if they can keep their base angry at marginalized communities, they don’t have to.
When you think about it, the military is a smart place to start. The tense relationship between the military and those impacted, including transgender military veterans like Chelsea Manning, undercut backlash to the proposal because the discussion has been equally focused on the atrocities of the military. Still, there is an important takeaway that lies outside one’s opinion on the military: This will not be the last federal policy aimed at making the lives of transgender people worse. As long as discrimination excites GOP voters, bills targeting marginalized communities will trickle in every time Drumpf or Congress’ approval ratings fall.
