When President Trump implemented harsh anti-transgender restrictions on military service in 2017, one of his cited justifications was the “tremendous … disruption” that the inclusion of transgender service members supposedly entailed. So, too, then-press secretary Sarah Sanders said transgender inclusion “erodes military readiness and unit cohesion.”
Well, a new Pentagon-funded study just came out that undercuts this weak rationale. According to the study, 66% of nontransgender military members support the inclusion of transgender people in the military. Higher levels of support for inclusion were noted among minority servicemen and servicewomen and lesbian, gay, and bisexual members of the military. And, for what it’s worth, 71% of the public supports transgender inclusion in the military, too.
The study concludes: “The ban, in part, based on a belief that transgender service members degrade unit readiness, contradicts our findings of broad support for transgender service among active duty service members. Policies limiting transgender service in the U.S. military should be lifted given these data.”
Indeed it should. If the vast majority of military members support inclusion, it’s hard to see how disruptive it really could be.
Of course, arguments about “unit cohesion” were always weak to begin with. A RAND Corporation study found that in other countries, transgender inclusion in the military did not undermine unit cohesion meaningfully. But dubious, vague arguments about “cohesion” could have been made against racial integration of the military, too. It’s simply not a valid reason to cite in support of discriminatory policies, such as the Trump administration’s harsh transgender military restrictions — especially since this new study shows it’s not even true.
The other justification conservatives often cited in support of anti-transgender policy was the cost that inclusion might entail. But the costs are quite minor relative to the military’s huge budget, and the military spent five times as much on Viagra as on transgender-related healthcare. Plus, if you want to get right to the most divisive issue and cost is the question, you can always just refuse to cover transition treatments on the military’s dime.
Trump is not, despite what his unhinged critics claim, a viciously anti-gay and anti-trans president. Not even close. But the president’s anti-transgender military restrictions continue to be the one major blight on his record on this front. Until it is repealed, it will continue to hamper his appeal to gay and transgender voters.
