President Trump put politics aside today to honor Veterans Day. He became the first president to attend the New York City Veterans Day Parade and delivered remarks which received bipartisan praise, calling our veterans "America's greatest living heroes."
Well done, Trump. There’s just one problem with the president’s otherwise commendable Veterans Day remarks: He continues to discriminate against an entire class of veterans and would-be service members through his administration’s transgender military ban.
Announced via tweet, the president in 2017 revoked an Obama-era policy and reinstituted a blanket ban on transgender people openly serving in the military, citing “the tremendous medical costs and disruption” inclusion would supposedly entail. After a series of legal challenges, the ban finally went into effect in April 2019.
There’s no actual reason to cast aside transgender Americans willing to ... sacrifice. Costs aren’t really a concern: A study from the RAND Corporation found that health costs for active transgender service people would only represent a ‘0.04- to 0.13-percent increase in active-component health care expenditures.’ That same study also found the inclusion of transgender troops likely has ‘little or no impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness, or readiness.'
It's completely understandable that Trump and other conservatives would be concerned about the cost of covering transgender-related healthcare. But as the RAND study makes clear, the cost isn't prohibitive: It's a tiny, tiny fraction of military healthcare spending. In fact, the military spends five times as much on Viagra as transgender healthcare, according to the Washington Post.
But even if the cost is a roadblock for conservatives, that would just be a reason to refuse coverage for transition-related care. The other costs involved just don't justify an all-out ban on transgender.
Still, it’s certainly true that transgender people are more likely to experience certain mental health issues and require medical treatment that complicates their ability to serve. But this is true for the group broadly, not every individual. Any transgender person who can meet the same requirements as anyone else and receive medical and psychiatric clearance to serve should be allowed to do so.
Anything else is blatant, baseless discrimination.
Trump's discriminatory ban continues to hurt veterans and transgender people who want to serve. In an article for Time, transgender veteran Dana Delgado writes: “A military that allows people to serve openly and honestly will be stronger for it. As we celebrate Veterans Day and recognize the commitment and sacrifice of those who served, I hope other transgender service members will again have the experience of wearing that uniform knowing they can be their true selves.”
Trump is right to honor our veterans during this important holiday, but the president's words will continue to ring hollow until his actions start to line up with them.
