Trump updates transgender military ban to block the mentally ill with gender dysphoria
The White House on Friday announced a policy to ban most transgender people from serving in the US military by updating the language with those suffering from gender dysphoria, a form of mental illness.
Following a Pentagon policy review after a tweet by President Donald Trump last year, the White House said the policy will say “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.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump had rescinded his previous policy to allow this new policy to take its place.
Sanders said the new language was “developed through extensive study by senior uniformed and civilian leaders, including combat veterans,” under the direction of Defense Secretary James Mattis.
New York LGBT Network President and CEO Dr. David Kilmnick slammed Trump and “called BS on the President’s assertion that transgender troops present a risk”. Kilmnick further said that “while millions across our nation prepare to hit the streets to march to save lives, President Trump’s hate filled policies continue to put more American lives in jeopardy and at stake. Banning transgender people from serving in our military is based on nothing more than bigotry. Millions of Americans are grateful to all the brave transgender men and women in uniform today who have fought to protect our freedoms. It is now our turn to fight for them and the right to serve our country open and proudly.”
“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,” Sanders said.
According to the American Psychiatric Association: “Gender dysphoria involves a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify. People with gender dysphoria may be very uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned, sometimes described as being uncomfortable with their body (particularly developments during puberty) or being uncomfortable with the expected roles of their assigned gender.
“People with gender dysphoria may often experience significant distress and/or problems functioning associated with this conflict between the way they feel and think of themselves (referred to as experienced or expressed gender) and their physical or assigned gender.”
The APA explains that gender dysphoria is not the same as “gender nonconformity, which refers to behaviors not matching the gender norms or stereotypes of the gender assigned at birth” or being homosexual.