Military Trans ban

[jp1]

Perhaps someone can re-explain to me why anyone in the LGBT community (other than maybe selfish well off older GWM's) should support republicans. From my perspective as a member of that community it's obvious that the Democrats need to continue the "identity politics" that people on the right scorn because the reality is that the republicans are still actively trying to harm those of us with various non-majority identities.

[bae]

What, you don't think it's Presidential to pick a small, vulnerable community and offer them up as red meat to motivate your supporters?

I liked the Gov. of Washington's response.

[freshstart]

Caitlyn Jenner, a Republican, who really did little to help other trans people and supported Trump, put out a statement that she feels betrayed or some such. What exactly did she expect? What Trump did today truly sickens me.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Suffice it to say that my husband and I are truly sickened by this. This truly shows the caliber of man who leads (?) this country. Rob

PS Came back to add: To JP1 - I can't think of a single reason to support Republicans. Not a single one.

[iris lilies]

I am indifferent as to whether trans people are accepted into the Armed Services, but I would look to the Generals and honor theor opinion. If the President did offer this up as a token of conservatism, that is disgusting for a couple of reasons.

That Navy Seal guy now girl is fascinating to me, I love her. Caitlyn Kenner, not so much.

[Williamsmith]

I dont get it. I mean, who's to say somebody in Trump's cabinet isn't transgender. Do they check? Who checks?

Remember blacks were at one time not welcome in the military. Then they put them in the same unit together. Imagine....one day we could have the "Fighting Trannies" . Is there some reason the Marines can't teach a transgender person to kill?

What if the President was transgender? As Commander In Chief......would he have to resign?

There is no doubt in my mind there is more than one General in the Armed Forces that is hiding his dresses at this very moment.

[ToomuchStuff]

Part of me wonders if this is some sort of backlash due to Bradley/Chelsea Manning and being pardoned.
But that is what politics do, paint with a broad brush and say we know how to fix your problems, whether gun control, the military, immigration, etc. etc. etc.
But broad brush painting doesn't stop there, whether your lumping trans people, or a political party, people will do it.

[Rogar]

I get the impression that Trump's great America is a retrogression back to all the prejudices and technologies of the mid-century post WWII fossil fuel era. I was curious about a couple of things. What are the medical expenses required for transgender people and why is this paid for by the government. I could be wrong, but I don't think most civilian medical insurance would cover gender reassignment procedures. Whatever the answer, Trump's statement about medical expenses is just a ploy. One of the news briefs said that the military spends more on Viagra than transgender medical expenses. Why is the military paying for Viagra?

[Zoe Girl]

It is not unexpected in many ways, but also I was surprised picked this. All of this is a natural progression of what he has been doing. I do recall him saying he was going to support and protect the LGBTQ community, I didn't believe him. It doesn't seem like he has a very united republican base however.

The trans people I know have been able to get medical care through regular insurance, and it was not extreme. I think the military handles all the medical costs of their service people, including Viagra! But anyone in the military has to pass basic training and be in very good shape so most of the medical costs would seem to be from actual combat.

[LDAHL]

Contrary to what the President tweeted, he doesn't seem to have consulted much with the military or the GOP leadership before issuing his diktat. I read he gave the SecDef one day's notice. The military has a fairly harsh and singular purpose that doesn't mesh well with many forms of human frailty, from flat feet to mental disorder. I would certainly say that effectiveness should outweigh fairness to a pretty ruthless degree, given the stakes. But I haven't heard the military leadership claiming that trans status members were compromising the mission. This smacks to me of being yet another one of those ridiculous culture war skirmishes rather than an issue of practical military necessity.