January 26, 2019
After much waiting, the Supreme Court is allowing the President’s transgenders in the military ban to temporarily go into effect. Previously, four federal district judges from Washington, D.C., Seattle, WA, Baltimore, MD, and Riverside, CA tried to stop the ban by ruling in favor of LGBT groups. However, early this year, a Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of the ban. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Court of Appeals’ ruling, letting the ban go into effect.
Although many attack the transgender ban as being discriminatory, it is far from it. Allowing transgenders to join the military takes a toll on military readiness. Sex reassignment surgery can cause an individual to be undeployable for up to a year, which does not include the continual hormone treatments one has to take afterward. The military specifically outlines the medical issues that will automatically disqualify someone from service. This includes anyone with diabetes who would need constant access to a refrigerator to keep insulin shots cool. Treatments such as this are not unlike hormone therapy shots, yet this is something that has been left off of the list.
Despite what opponents of this ban may think, transgender surgery is not healthcare. If this ban never took effect, Americans would have to shell out $3.7 billion for these types of elective surgeries over the next ten years. In fact, those who have gone forward with surgery are at a higher risk for psychological problems including suicide. Sex reassignment surgeries leave individuals worse off than when they began which is the antithesis of health.
Now that this ruling has been made, it will be open-season for liberals trying to tear it down. House Armed Services Committee Chairman has already vowed to fight it. We can expect language in future military bills that will try to reinstate a full allowance of transgenders in the military as well as taxpayer-funded reassignment surgeries. We must be diligent in contacting our Representatives in Congress to stop this effort.
Eagle Forum applauds the White House for issuing the ban and continuing to appeal poor rulings issued by partisan judges.