Donald Trump recently tweeted that transgender persons will no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, citing "tremendous medical costs" and "disruption." Mr. Trump's announcement is nothing but a shameless attempt to win favor with his supporters. It is factually wrong, unconstitutional, hypocritical, and just plain un-American.
The U.S. military spends 10 times more on prescriptions for medicines for service members with erectile dysfunction than it would on transgender troops. Eighteen countries, including most of our western European allies, have allowed transgender persons to serve for years, without any effect on readiness. In fact, these countries, and the U.S., need every person willing to serve in order to meet recruiting goals. So much for the cost and disruption arguments.
Serving in the military is a basic civil right. Just like the right to vote, it should be denied to no one. Because Mr. Trump's proposed ban denies this right, it is a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and is most likely illegal.
What makes Mr. Trump's statement particularly shameful and hypocritical is that it came from a man who secured five draft deferments in order to get out of serving in the military himself. Here's someone who fought tooth and nail to avoid serving his country, and he would deny that honor to others who would do so willingly.
Regardless of how one feels about transgenderism, the simple truth is that these individuals volunteered to serve their country — potentially putting their lives on the line — because they love America. They are willing to make great sacrifices to defend the liberties that all Americans — including Mr. Trump — enjoy. To deny them that opportunity is bigoted, and simply un-American.
Look ... when I served in the Army, I didn't care if the soldier next to me was named Bruce or Caitlyn, or whether they had a penis, a vagina, or both, or neither. All I cared about was that they could do their job. That's all that matters.
Mark Daugherty
Chantilly