President Biden issued an executive order on January 25, 2021, called “Executive Order on Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform”. The purpose of this executive order was to overturn former President Trump’s ban on transgender people serving openly in the military.
“All Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States (“Armed Forces”) should be able to serve. The All-Volunteer Force thrives when it is composed of diverse Americans who can meet the rigorous standards for military service, and an inclusive military strengthens our national security.”
To understand the significance of this executive order, you need to know a little history about how people who are transgender were being treated in the military.
On July 13, 2015, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that military had six months to figure out the logistics of integrating transgender troops into the military. Secretary Ash Carter stated that the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military was “causing uncertainty that distracts commanders from our core missions”. Going forward, the military and civilian officials who would be determining the new rules will work under the assumption that transgender people can serve without “adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness, unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified.”
Unfortunately, the ban on transgender people serving in the military had to stay in place until the military completed their studies on how to appropriately integrate transgender troops.
It should be noted that this change was initiated a few weeks after the Supreme Court of the United States made marriage for same-sex couples legal nationwide.
The case was called Obergefell v. Hodges, and was brought to the court by Jim Obergefell, who sued because he was unable to put his name on his late husband’s death certificate. The argument was that the laws violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagen voted for same-sex marriage rights, making same-sex marriage legal across the United States of America in June of 2015.
On June 30, 2016, the Obama-Biden administration ended the military’s longstanding ban on openly transgender service members. The change would take a year to be fully implemented. At the time, NBC News reported: Unlike “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which required congressional approval both to become law and to be repealed, the transgender policy was never a statutory bar; that meant that ending it required only the direction of the defense secretary and the president.
President Biden’s executive order included the following:
“To that end, in 2016, a meticulous, comprehensive study requested by the Department of Defense found that enabling transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military would have only a minimal impact on military readiness and healthcare costs. The study also concluded that open transgender service has had no significant impact on operational effectiveness or unit cohesion in foreign militaries.
“On the basis of this information, the Secretary of Defense concluded in 2016 that permitting transgender individuals to serve openly in the military was consistent with military readiness and with strength through diversity, such that transgender service members who could meet the required standards and procedures should be permitted to serve openly. The Secretary of Defense concluded that it was appropriate to create a process that would enable service members to take steps to transition gender while serving.”
There is a big problem with rules that do not require congressional approval to become a law (or to be repealed). It leaves open the possibility that the next president will choose to reverse the rule, and in doing so, cause harm to an entire group of people.
On August 25, 2017, (former) President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum titled: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security”. The subject was: Military Service by Transgender Individuals.
Here is part of Trump’s presidential memorandum:
“…Until June 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (collectively, the Departments) generally prohibited openly transgender individuals from accession into the United States military and authorized the discharge of such individuals. Shortly before President Obama left office, however, his Administration dismantled the Departments’ established framework by permitting transgender individuals to serve openly in the military, authorizing the use of the Departments’ resources to fund sex-reassignment surgical procedures, and permitting accession of such individuals after July 1, 2017. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security have since extended the deadline to alter the currently effective accession policy to January 1, 2018, while the Departments continue to study the issue.
“In my judgement (President Trump stated) the previous Administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating the Departments’ longstanding policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources, and there remain meaningful concerns that further study is needed to ensure that continued implementation of last year’s policy change would not have those negative effects…”
The Memorandum also states that (former) President Trump directed the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to the U.S. Coast Guard, “to return to the longstanding policy and practice on military service by transgender individuals that was in place prior to June 2016 until such a time exists upon which to conclude that terminating the policy and practice would not have the negative effects discussed above.”
It is important to note the differences between (former) President Obama’s executive order and (former) President Trump’s memorandum. Obama’s overturning of the ban on transgender troops was not announced until the military completed their studies on how to appropriately integrate transgender troops. The studies took about six months to complete, and Obama did not announce the overturning of the ban until after learning the outcome of the studies. In short, Obama was careful. He had research done, and then he read the conclusions of the research. After making his announcement to overturn that ban – the changes took about a year to fully go into effect.
Trump’s memorandum is the reverse of Obama’s in every way. Trump did not wait for his military leaders to do a study on whether or not Obama’s reversal of the ban on transgender troops was helping or hindering the military. Instead, he based the entire memorandum on his own judgement. This was done on a whim, in an effort to hurt transgender people. It was just one example of Trump’s cruelty.
On April 26, 2017, Stars And Stripes reported that Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told lawmakers that none of the four military services’ top generals nor the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were consulted before his predecessor permitted transgender people to serve in the armed forces two years ago.
Stars And Stripes also reported: During a heated exchange, Mattis defended his recent policy barring most transgender individuals from serving, telling Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand D.-N.Y., that the directive unveiled under Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2016 was “opaque” and blocked the Pentagon from revealing issues it uncovered with their service.
Stars And Stripes continued: The secretary’s response was a rare public assessment of his new policy, released last month in a 48-page document. The new policy, which has been approved by President Donald Trump, has not been enacted, as four federal judges have blocked it, pending the outcome of four discrimination lawsuits filed by transgender individuals and advocates against the federal government.
The article also included a quote from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “It appears that this report your department has issued is not based on the department’s data or science, but rather on quote ‘potential risks’ that the authors cannot back up,” Gillibrand said. “In fact, this seems to me to be the same unfounded claims and unfounded concerns that led to the opposition to repealing ‘Dont Ask Don’t Tell,” integrating women into the military, integrating African Americans into the military, and I think you need to do a lot more work on this topic to inform yourselves.”
On August 30, 2017, Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, froze the policy and allowed transgender troops to continue serving. Jim Mattis said in a statement: “Once the panel reports its recommendations and following my consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice to the president concerning implementation of his policy direction. In the interim, current policy with respect to currently serving members will remain in place.”
At the time, USA TODAY reported: Last year, the Pentagon commissioned a study by the non-partisan RAND Corp. to examine the effect on military readiness of allowing transgender troops to serve openly and the cost of providing them medical treatment. The study estimated that a few to several thousand transgender troops are on the active duty force of 1.3 million. Researchers found that paying for their health care needs would amount to about $8 million per year and their effect on readiness would be negligible.
The decision by Secretary Mattis caused a change to Trump’s original ban on transgender troops. On March 23, 2018, Trump posted a Presidential Memoranda titled: “Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security Regarding Military Service by Transgender Individuals”. From the memoranda:
“Pursuant to my memorandum of August 25, 2017, “Military Service by Transgender Individuals,” the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, submitted to me a memorandum and report concerning military service by transgender individuals.
“These documents set forth the policies on this issue that the Secretary of Defense, in the exercise of his independent judgement, has concluded should be adopted by the Department of Defense. The Secretary of Homeland Security concurs with these policies with respect to the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Among other things, the policy set forth by the Secretary of Defense state that transgender persons with a history of 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 limited circumstances.”
The memoranda also stated that the August 25, 2017 memoranda was revoked, along with any other directive Trump “may have made with respect to military service by transgender individuals”. It also stated that the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to the U.S. Coast Guard, “may exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals.”
On December 21, 2018, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned. CNN reported his resignation came a day after Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Syria became public. The article included an embed of the resignation letter written by James Mattis. Here is a key portion of it:
“…Because you have a right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position. The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department’s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February. Further, that a full transition to a new Secretary of Defense occurs well in advance of the transition of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September in order to ensure stability Within the Department…”
On March 14, 2019, NBC News reported: There are currently four lawsuits pending against the new policy. The Supreme Court stayed two injunctions in January, and last week, U.S. District Judge George Russell in Maryland lifted a third injunction. An injunction issued by a district court in D.C. still technically remains in effect, however, until the issuance of mandate. As a result, the release of the memo came as a shock to some advocates who question whether, with its publication, the government is in violation of a court order.
NBC News also reported: “Not only does the Trump-Pence transgender military ban violate the Constitution, but now the administration is also defying a court order,” Jennifer Levi, director of the Transgender Rights Project at LGBTQ legal group GLAD [sic], said in a statement. “With brazen disregard for the judicial process, the Pentagon is prematurely and illegally rolling out a plan to implement the ban when a court injunction remains in place prohibiting them from doing so.”
On April 12, 2019, (former) President Trump reversed the Obama-Biden rules that allowed people who are transgender to openly serve in the United States military.
NBC News reported: Under the new policy, which the Department of Defense has insisted is not a “ban”, currently serving transgender individuals who already received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria may continue to serve in their preferred gender, receive hormone treatments and undergo gender-affirming surgery. But after Friday, anyone with gender dysphoria who is taking hormones or has already undergone a gender transition will not be allowed to enlist. Further, any currently serving troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria after this date will have to serve in their sex as assigned at birth and will be barred from taking hormones or getting gender-affirming surgery.
President Biden’s executive order included information about what the Trump administration had done:
“…The previous administration chose to alter that policy to bar transgender persons, in almost all circumstances, from joining the Armed Forces and from being able to take steps to transition gender while serving. Rather than relying on the comprehensive study by a nonpartisan federally funded research center, the previous administration relied on a review that resulted in a policy that set unnecessary barriers to military service.
“It is my judgement that the Secretary of Defense’s 2016 conclusions remain valid, as further demonstrated by the fact that in 2018, the then-serving Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force all testified publicly to the Congress that they were not aware of any issues of unit cohesion, disciplinary problems, or issues of morale resulting from open transgender service.
“A group of former United States Surgeons General, who collectively served under Democratic and Republican Presidents, echoed this point, stating in 2018 that “transgender troops are as medically fit as their non-transgender peers and that there is no medically valid reason – including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria – to exclude them from military service or to limit their access to medically necessary care.”
Therefore, it shall be the policy of the United States to ensure that all transgender individuals who wish to serve in the United States military and can meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination.
This is definitely a positive outcome. However, there is more to be done. Americans need Congress to make this executive order into a law. There is every reason to believe that this can be done while the Democratic Party has the Presidency, the majority in the House of Representatives, and the majority in the Senate. After it becomes a law, it will be much more difficult for future presidents – or Congresses – to overturn it.
January 20, 2021: The White House posted an Executive Order titled: “Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation”. From the Executive Order:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love. Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports. Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes. People should be able to access healthcare and secure a roof over their heads without being subjected to sex discrimination. All persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity of sexual orientation.
These principles are reflected in the Constitution, which promises equal protection of the laws. These principles are also enshrined in our Nation’s anti-discrimination laws, among them, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) In Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court held that Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination “because of… sex” covers discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. Under Bostock’s reasoning, laws that prohibit sex discrimination – including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) the Fair Housing Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and section 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1522), along with their respective implementing regulations – prohibit discrimination on the basis or gender identity or sexual orientation, so long as the laws do not contain sufficient indications to the contrary.
Discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation manifests differently for different individuals, and it often overlaps with other forms of prohibited discrimination, including discrimination in the basis of race or disability. For example, transgender Black Americans face unconscionably high levels of workplace discrimination, homelessness, and violence, including fatal violence.
It is the policy of my Administration to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and to fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. It is also the policy of my Administration to address overlapping forms of discrimination.
Sec. 2 Enforcing Prohibitions on Sex Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. (a) The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable and in consultation with the Attorney General, as appropriate, review all existing orders, regulations, guidance documents, policies, programs, or other agency actions (“agency actions”) that:
(i) were promulgated or are administered by the agency under Title VII or any other statute or regulation that prohibits sex discrimination, including any that relate to the agency’s own compliance with such statutes or regulations; and
(ii) are or may be inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.
(b) The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable and as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.), consider whether to revise, suspend, or rescind such agency actions, or promulgate new agency actions, as necessary to fully implement statutes that prohibit sex discrimination and the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.
(c) The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable, also consider whether there are additional actions that the agency should take to ensure that it is fully implementing the policy set forth in section 1 of this order. If an agency takes an action described in this subsection or subsection (b) of this section, it shall seek to ensure that it is accounting for, and taking appropriate steps to combat, overlapping forms of discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of race or disability.
(d) Within 100 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency shall develop, in consultation with the Attorney General, as appropriate, a plan to carry out actions that the agency has identified pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.
Sec. 3. Definition. “Agency” means any authority of the United States that is an “agency” under 44 U.S.C. 3502(1), other than those considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5).
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents or any other person.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
January 25, 2021: The White House posted Remarks titled: “Remarks by President Biden in Signing of Executive Order Reversing the 2018 Transgender Military Ban” From the Remarks:
THE PRESIDENT: Well, folks, thank you very much for being here. I’m about to sign an executive order, but I want to begin by thanking the Vice President for helping this, but also thank Chairman Milley, who has been a great, great help, and then also the soon-to-be Secretary of Defense, who, when we can finish this, will be sworn in in a moment. And so, don’t say anything to cause him to change his mind, ok?
But all kidding aside, this is reinstating a position that previous commanders and – as well as the Secretaries have supported. And what I’m doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform, and essentially restoring the situation as it existed before, with transgender personnel, if qualified in every other way, can serve their government in the United States military.
So that’s what I’m about to sign. And I’m going to get a chance, I’m told, a little later on another matter – later this afternoon when I speak to another order – to answer all your questions on a whole range of things. But I’m going to be going into the swearing-in shortly after this. Okay?
Thank you again.
(The executive order is signed.)
THE PRESIDENT: All right. Thank you.
January 25, 2021: The White House posted an Executive Order titled: Executive Order Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform” From the Executive Order:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. All Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States (“Armed Forces”) should be able to serve. The All-Volunteer Force thrives when it is composed of diverse Americans who can meet when it is composed of diverse Americans who can meet the rigorous standards for military service, and an inclusive military strengthens our national security.
It is my conviction as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces that gender identity should not be a bar to military service. Moreover, there is substantial evidence that allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military does not have any meaningful negative impact on the Armed Forces. To that end, in 2016, a meticulous, comprehensive study requested by the Department of Defense found that enabling transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military would have only a minimal impact on military readiness and healthcare costs. The study also concluded that open transgender service has had no significant impact on operational effectiveness or unit cohesion in foreign militaries.
On the basis of this information, the Secretary of Defense concluded in 2016 that permitting transgender individuals to serve openly in the military was consistent with military readiness and with strength through diversity, such that transgender service members who could meet the required standards and procedures should be permitted to serve openly. The Secretary of Defense also concluded that it was appropriate to create a process that would enable service members to take steps to transition gender while serving.
The previous administration chose to alter that policy to bar transgender persons, in almost all circumstances, from joining the Armed Forces and from being able to take steps to transition gender while serving. Rather than relying on the comprehensive study by a nonpartisan federally funded research center, the previous administration relied on a review that results in a policy that set unnecessary barriers to military service.
It is my judgement that the Secretary of Defense’s 2016 conclusions remain valid, as further demonstrated by the fact that, in 2018, the then-serving Chief of Staff the Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force all testified publicly to the Congress that they were not aware of any issues of unit cohesion, disciplinary problems, or issues of morale resulting from open transgender service.
A group of former United States Surgeons General, who collectively served under Democratic and Republican Presidents, echoed this point, stating in 2018 that “transgender troops are as medically fit as their non-transgender peers and that there is no medically valid reason – including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria – to exclude them from military service or to limit their access to medically necessary care.”
Therefore, it shall be the policy of the United States to ensure that all transgender individuals can meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination.
Sec. 2. Revocation. The Presidential Memorandum of March 23, 2018 (Military Service by Transgender Individuals), is hereby revoked, and the Presidential Memorandum of August 25, 2017 (Military Service by Transgender Individuals), remains revoked.
Sec. 3. Agency Roles and Responsibilities. In furtherance of the policy described in section 1 of this order, I hereby direct the following:
(a) The Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard, shall, after consultation to the Joint Chief’s of Staff about how best to implement this policy and consistent with applicable law, take all necessary steps to ensure that all directives, orders, regulations, and policies of their respective departments are consistent with this order. These steps shall include establishing a process by which transgender service members may transition gender while serving, along with any future steps that the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security deem appropriate to advance the policy described in section 1 of this order.
(b) The Secretary of Defense shall:
(i) immediately prohibit involuntary separations, discharges, and denials of reenlistment or continuation of services on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating to their gender identity;
(ii) identify and examine the records of service members who have been involuntarily separated, discharged, or denied reenlistment or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances related to their gender identity;
(iii) issue guidance to the Secretaries of each military department regarding the correction of the military records of individuals described in subsection (b)(ii) of this section as necessary to remove an injustice, pursuant to section 1552(a) of title 10, United States Code, to the extent permitted by law; and
(iv) direct the Secretaries of each military department to provide supplemental guidance, subject to the approval of the Secretary, to the boards for the correction of military records, instructing such boards on how to review applications for the correction of records of individuals described in subsection (b)(ii) of this section. Where appropriate, the department concerned shall offer such individuals an opportunity to rejoin the military should they wish to do so and meet the current entry standards.
(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard shall:
(i) Immediately prohibit involuntary separations, discharges, and denials of reenlistment or continuation of services, on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating to their gender identity;
(ii) identify and examine the records of service members who have been involuntarily separated, discharged, or denied reenlistment or continuation of service, on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances related to their gender identity;
(iii) issue guidance regarding the correction of the military records of individuals described in subsection (c)(ii) of this section as necessary to remove an injustice, pursuant to section 1552(a) of title 10, United States Code, to the extent permitted by law; and
(iv) provide supplemental guidance to the Board for Correction of Military Records of the Coast Guard, instructing the Board on how to review applications for the correction of records of individuals described in subsection (c)(ii) of this section. Where appropriate, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall offer such individuals an opportunity to rejoin the Court Guard should they wish to do so and meet the current entry standards.
(d) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall report to me within 60 days of the date of this order on their progress in implementing the directives in this order and the policy described in section 1 of this order.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees or agents or any other person.
JOSEPH P. BIDEN JR.
January 25, 2021: The White House posted a Fact Sheet titled: “Fact Sheet: President Biden Signs Executive Order Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform” From the Fact Sheet:
President Biden signed today an Executive Order that sets the policy that all Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States should be able to serve. The All-Volunteer Force thrives when it is composed of diverse Americans who can meet the rigorous standards for military service, and an inclusive military strengthens our national security.
President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that American’s strength is found in its diversity. This question of how to enable all qualified Americans to serve in the military is easily answered by recognizing our core values. American is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive. The military is no exception. Allowing all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform is better for the military and better for the country because an inclusive force is a more effective force. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do and is in our national interest.
In 2016, a comprehensive study requested by the Department of Defense found that enabling transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military would have only a minimal impact on military readiness and healthcare costs. The study also concluded that open transgender service had no significant impact on operational effectiveness or unit cohesion in foreign militaries.
These facts were confirmed by testimony in 2018 to Congress by the then-serving Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Staff of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force that they were not aware of any issues of unit cohesion, disciplinary problems or issues of morale resulting from open transgender services. In addition, former United States Surgeon General, who served under both Democratic and Republican Presidents, supported this posture, noted in 2018 that “transgender troops are as medically fit as their non-transgender peers and that there is no medically valid reason – including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria – to exclude the from military service or to limit their access to medically necessary care.”
Today’s executive action revokes the Presidential Memorandum of March 23, 2018 (Military Services by Transgender Individuals), and also confirms the revocation of the Presidential Memorandum of August 25, 2017 (Military Service by Transgender Individuals). This executive order:
Directs the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security to implement this order. The President has directed the Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard, after consultation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to take all necessary steps to ensure that all directives, orders, regulations, and policies of their respective departments are consistent with this order.
Immediately Prohibits Involuntary Separations, Discharges, and Denials of Reenlistment or Continuation of Services on the Basis of Gender Identity or Under Circumstances Relating to Gender Identity. And, the order directs an immediate start to the identification and examination of the records of service members who have been involuntary separated, discharged, or denied reenlistment or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating to gender identity, as well as the correction of the military records.
Simply put, transgender service members will no longer be subject to the possibility of discharge or separation on the basis of gender identity; transgender service members can serve in their gender when transition is complete and the gender marker in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) is changed and transgender servicemembers should know that they are accepted throughout the US military.
Requires an initial report from the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security be made to the President within 60 days on their progress in implementing the directives and policy included in today’s Executive Order.
Biden Order Reversed the Transgender Military Ban is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.
3 comments
Comments are closed.