Saying he’s “troubled,” Rep. Scott Taylor Wednesday afternoon denounced President Donald Trump’s “premature plan” to ban transgender service members in the armed forces.
“There are heroic military members willing to put their lives on the line and give the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, regardless of their gender identity,” Taylor said in a statement. “I support the ability for those who meet all military requirements, medical and otherwise, to have the opportunity to serve our great country.”
In a series of tweets sent out around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Trump announced that the armed forces would no longer accept or allow transgender service members to serve “in any capacity.”
“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” Trump tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890193981585444864
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890196164313833472
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890197095151546369
In a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that there is no immediate plan of action concerning active duty service members.
“The White House and the Department of Defense will have to work out an implementation policy,” Sanders said.
When pressed on why Trump tweeted the decision before any legislative procedures had been acted out, Sanders said that Trump felt he didn’t need to hold off on publicly announcing the decision.
“The president made the decision yesterday and the secretary of defense was immediately informed, as was the rest of the national security team,” Sanders said. “I think sometimes you have to make a decision, and once he made a decision, he didn’t feel it was necessary to hold that decision.”
Sanders repeatedly told press in attendance that the decision was made only with “military readiness” in mind and that Trump would continue to fight for LGBT rights going forward.
“It wasn’t an easy [decision],” Sanders said, “but best for the military.”
With the future of thousands on the line, CEO of the LGBT Life Center in Norfolk Stacie Walls-Beegle said that no one should ever have to worry about the security of their employment – including service members.
“Employment protection should be extended to every job. The military shouldn’t be exempt from that,” said Walls-Beegle. “They can be evicted and fired without protection. I hope that the American people see that this is how transgender individuals have to live sometimes without that protection.”
“When Trump stood in front of the Republican Party – and America – to accept his party’s nomination, he held up a rainbow flag and said that he would protect LGBTQ Americans,” Walls-Beelge said. “Day after day, and week after week, the Trump administration has worked to eliminate LGBTQ Americans from the conversation.”
A study released by the Rand Corporation last year indicated that the office of the Secretary of Defense asked the company to study “gender-transition related treatment during military service” in order to assess health care costs for the population.
According to the study, it’s estimated that as few as 30 and up to 140 new hormone treatments would be initiated each year, with 25 to 130 gender transition-related surgeries estimated among active component service members. The additional costs were estimated between $2.4 million and $8.4 million – about a 0.13-percent increase.
Within the hour, Commonwealth politicians fired tweets back at the president, criticizing his decision.
Among those were Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who said Trump’s “backward anti-LGBT agenda” doesn’t belong in the military.
.@realDonaldTrump the military isn't a platform for your backward anti-LGBT agenda. Let's welcome all who want to serve, not discriminate.
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) July 26, 2017
Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam did the same, saying that anyone “who wants to serve our country in the military should be welcomed,” he tweeted. “They’re patriots and should be treated as such.”
“We should be honoring the tremendous courage and sacrifices of our service members, who give so much to uphold the ideals of equality and justice that are the foundation of our democracy,” Northam said in an email.
The president of Hampton Roads Pride Michael Berlucchi told a reporter in an interview that the organization is extremely disappointed in the announcement. Berlucchi said that HR Pride stands in direct opposition to any policy that discriminates or marginalizes any person, especially members of the transgender community.
Berlucchi said that the ban would impact Hampton Roads especially, since Naval Station Norfolk is the largest military base in the world, with the region having the largest military population per capita.
“It’s estimated that as many as 15,000 people who are openly members of the transgender community are currently serving as either active duty or in the reserves,” Berlucchi said. “They’re serving their country honorably. A ban would require the removal of those people, which would be harmful by any measure to our national security and our military readiness, not to mention the impact it has on equality.”
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted on a bill called the Hartzler Amendment. It failed a house vote 214 to 209, but had it passed, it would have denied certain needed medical care for transgender service members, including gender transition, surgeries and necessary prescriptions.
Reps. Bobby Scott and Scott Taylor split the vote, with Scott voting no and Taylor voting yes.
“I recently supported the Hartzler amendment on the basis of individual medical readiness, which should always be a priority for the military,” Taylor said on Wednesday afternoon. “Readiness is crucial for us to continue to have the most highly capable fighting force in the world.”
Scott said the president’s decision would “undermine morale and further devalues the service and sacrifice of the more than 130,000 transgender veterans.” He also pointed out that 69 years ago today, President Harry S. Truman signed a historic executive order to desegregate the military.
“Likewise, in 2010, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals to openly serve in our military,” Scott said in the statement. “And in 2013, the Obama Administration moved to lift the ban prohibiting women from serving in combat.”
Scott said that decision to close off opportunity to serve in the armed forces for anyone is a “giant step backward” for the military and the country, alike.
“President Trump’s actions undermine the very bedrock of the principles of freedom that those who serve our nation in uniform defend,” Scott stated.
Local political commentator Scott Presler, who identifies as gay and has been very outspoken about his support for Trump, tweeted Wednesday morning that while he was “mixed on the ban,” he doesn’t believe that the military should pay for “sex assignment surgeries.”
I am also mixed on the ban. Part of me thinks it's wrong & the other part says that we are doing this for a strategic mission.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) July 26, 2017
The U.S. Navy released the following statement to a reporter Wednesday morning:
“We will continue to work closely with the White House to address the new guidance provided by the Commander-in-Chief on transgender individuals serving the military. We will provide revised guidance to the Department in the near future.”
A spokesperson for the Virginia GOP did not wish to comment.
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This article was published in partnership with WYDaily’s sister publication, Southside Daily.
