Letter To The Editor - Transgender Military Service 1

Dear Editor,

I am writing to you in regards to President Donald J. Trumps divisive and discriminatory

decision to no longer allow transgender people to openly serve in the armed forces of the United

States. A transgender person is a person whose gender identity differs from the sex [that]

person had or was identified as having at birth.(Merriam-Webster) These individuals are human

beings with self-awareness, feelings, hopes, and dreams just like all other people. They deserve

the same respect and rights that all others enjoy in the United States. Unfortunately some feel

that these individuals are not worthy of the same rights and opportunities afforded by those

whose gender identity is the same as their sex.

On July 26th, 2017 President Donald Trump tweeted, "After consultation with my

Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not

accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military

must be focused on decision and overwhelming...victory and cannot be burdened with the

tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

(Diamond, 2017) This statement reverses the Obama era decision to allow transgender

individuals to serve in the military and appears to a direct attack on the transgender community

in the United States and is obviously devastating to the estimated...total of between 2,150 and

10,790 transgender service members currently serving in the armed forces. (PolitiFact, 2017)

This decision made by the President of the United States is purely based in discrimination;

furthermore the claims that transgender military personnel would be a financial burden is not

founded in fact.

In 2016 Rand Corp, an independent, non-profit organization, was approached by the US

Secretary of the Department of Defense to study the health care needs of [the transgender

population], identify potential health care utilization and costs associated with extending health

care coverage for transition-related treatments, assess the potential readiness impacts of
Letter To The Editor - Transgender Military Service 2

allowing transgender service members to serve openly...the study estimates that between...25

to 130 gender transition-related surgeries could be utilized a year among active component

service members. Additional health care costs could range between $2.4 million and $8.4

million, representing an approximate 0.13-percent increase...a minimal increase. (Impact,

2017) The conclusion of this study is clear; the amount of $2.4 billion - $8.4 billion pales in

comparison to the nearly $600 billion Dollars spent on military funding per year, or the $1.11

trillion of discretionary government funds spent each year. (Federal Spending, 2016) We can

conclude that this increase in government spending would not represent the tremendous

medical costs that President Trump claims, but rather a slight increase that would support

inclusivity for all Americans rather that just the comfortable majority.

Our founding fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence, a document that

assisted in the founding of our nation, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by

their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit

of Happiness. (Declaration, 1776). If we hold these same values as true today, let us realize

that someone's sexual identity doesnt hinder their ability to serve in a military capacity or any

capacity for that matter. Transgender individuals obviously do not represent a financial burden

to the military if they actively serve in the armed forces, and there is no reason to ban any

qualified American citizen from serving in the armed forces, transgender or not. This is a

discriminatory policy that has no factual basis and should be reversed back to the inclusive

policy that allowed transgender individuals the right of serving in the United States military given

by the previous presidential administration. United we stand, divided we fall. We must make

room for our fellow citizens and allow knowledge and understanding to guide our political and

military policy rather than bias, misinformation, and division.

Letter To The Editor - Transgender Military Service 3

Works Cited

Trump signs directive banning transgender military recruits

Jeremy Diamond - http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/25/politics/trump-transgender-

military/index.html
Letter To The Editor - Transgender Military Service 4

PolitiFact -D-Wis. representative -

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2017/jul/26/mark-pocan/how-many-

people-military-are-transgender/

(Transgender). Retrieved September 9, 2017, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/transgender

Impact of Transgender Personnel on Readiness and Health Care Costs in the U.S. Military

Likely to Be Small

https://www.rand.org/news/press/2016/06/30.html

Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript