Transgender people authorized to serve in the United States military

At the end of his term, Barack Obama had decided to allow transgender people to join the US military from 1is July 2017. When he came to power, Donald Trump postponed the deadline to 1is January 2018, to end up completely reversing this decision of his predecessor. Joe Biden, invested for only five days, decided to undo what the Republican had done, and finally allow transgender people to join the armed forces. “President Biden believes that gender identity should not be an obstacle to service in the military and that America’s strength lies in its diversity,” the White House said in a statement.

In the presence of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, Joe Biden signed an executive order that “all Americans fit to serve in the United States armed forces should be able to do so. », Also indicates the executive.

“It’s in our national interest”

“Allowing all able-bodied Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for our country because an inclusive (military) force is a more effective force,” the statement continued. “Put simply, that’s what’s right and it’s in our national interest. ”

To justify his decision, Donald Trump had put forward, in a round of tweets in July 2017, “the burden of enormous medical costs” and “disruptions”, taking the opposite view of the military hierarchy.After various legal actions, the case reached the Supreme Court, which in January 2019 authorized Donald Trump’s administration to limit the rights of transgender people while awaiting the outcome of the ongoing legal battles.

Transgender individuals forced to serve based on their gender of birth

As of April 2019, transgender people are forced to serve based on their gender assigned at birth. And people who need hormone treatment or gender reassignment surgery can no longer enlist, nor can people who have previously undergone medical treatment for gender reassignment.

The measure had been criticized by human rights defenders, who considered it discriminatory and believed that it would lead transgender soldiers to conceal their gender identity.

The Pentagon estimates that 9,000 people who identify as transgender who serve in the armed forces, a thousand of whom say they have changed their sex or want to do so. The US military has 1.3 million active service personnel.


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