Transgender Ban in the Military

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(Photo: tedeytan)

Andi Burroughs

On Tuesday, January 22, 2019, the Supreme Court voted 5-4, in favor of President Trump, to ban transgender people from serving in the United States military. This decision is a revision of a policy that former President Barack Obama created in 2016. President Obama made it possible for people who identify as transgender to serve in the military, but the new revision makes it so that only transgender people who are already serving in the military and those who agree to serve as their biological sex can serve in the military. Even with the new Supreme Court decision, there are cases challenging it. Because of this, lawyers are arguing that the new policy should not to be enforced until these cases are cleared.

Many people are arguing that “The government has presented no evidence that [transgender people serving in the military] harm military readiness, effectiveness or lethality.” There is a huge outrage in the LGBT community. There are still numerous cases pending, which go against the new policy. This new policy means a lot of things for a lot of people. It is changing their lives. The question is, is it changing their lives for better or for worse?