Donald Trump announced his decision to bar transgender individuals from the military citing medical costs and disruption. He announced this major policy in one of his twitter postings saying he came to the decision after consulting with generals and military experts. Under the Trump twitter pronouncement, transgender persons will not be allowed to serve in the US military in any capacity.
Pentagon in the Dark
A spokesman for the Pentagon appeared to be unaware of the new policy and did not answer questions on Trump’s policy on transgender in the military, referring all questions to the white house.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis in a statement said that they will work with the White House to address the new guidelines on transgender persons in the military. There is reportedly some 250 military personnel in the process of transitioning.
A promise to the LGBTQ
Donald Trump made a promise, loud and clear to the LGBTQ community. At the Republican National Convention, he said unequivocally that the rights of Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons will be protected. The promise was made during his prime time speech at the convention referring to the murder of 49 members of the community who were murdered in Orlando by what he called Islamic terrorists. He said that they were targeted and as president, he will protect them from violence and oppression of a foreign ideology that is hateful.
Trump has so far failed on his promise to deliver a better health care plan for Americans by repealing and replacing Obamacare. By barring transgender persons from military duty, he has again failed to keep a promise he made, this time to the Glbtq persons.
Protesting the ban
In wake of Trump's ban on transgender in the military, protests broke out across the US.
The ban took a nation by surprise and left those serving in the military in limbo. Just hours after the announcement, angry demonstrators took to the streets in New York, San Francisco and Washington DC. to protest the ban.
There has been no word from the President and the White House hasn't offered any further clarification since his tweet about the ban.
But some Republican and Democratic lawmakers along with Human Rights groups have accused Donald Trump of discrimination. While the Pentagon did not provide the actual numbers of transgender troops in service, it is estimated that 2,500 to 7,000 are on active duty with another 1,500 to 4,000 serving in the reserves, according to a Rand Corporation report.
