During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders pausing federal aid, dismantling DEI programs and changing the terms of birthright citizenship. Now, the latest four executive orders he signed on Monday involve altering the military, including preventing transgender individuals from enlisting and suppressing DEI programs initiatives within the service.
The president’s latest move dismantles decades of governmental LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts in the military. While transgender and other LGBTQ+ people have always served in the military, they were prevented from doing so openly until changes to a 2021 army directive policy reversed those regulations, according to Military.com.
Data published in the National Library of Medicine during 2020 estimated that approximately 8,000 transgender individuals actively served in the military, but that the numbers could be much higher due to insufficient data and fear of disclosing one’s gender identity.
And transgender people have a right to be fearful. Since 2013, the Human Rights Campaign reported 372 deaths of transgender and gender-expansive individuals from violence. Black trans women compromised 61% of these victims. A transgender person’s expectation of experiencing rejection and discrimination (along with psychological pain) can contribute to feelings of suicidal ideation, the National Institutes of Health previously reported.
This is a prime example of moving the country backward by telling transgender people they aren’t accepted. Sounds familiar? Because it is.
While the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 allowed Black people to officially serve in the military, discrimination — including segregation — persisted. It treated Black people poorly simply based on how they looked and who they were. Of course, this includes Black women, who were given tasks like sorting mail since their counterparts didn’t view think they were capable of fighting, as depicted in Tyler Perry’s recent Netflix film “The Six Triple Eight.”
As TS Madison recently told TMZ, “What were they doing in 1790 to Black people, to gay people, to Indian people, to anyone that was not 100% white — male?” We all know the answer, and they weren’t good things.
History is repeating itself by telling transgender people they aren’t fit to serve on the front lines. A job that deserves the utmost respect, by the way, due to one’s willingness to potentially sacrifice themselves in order to defend their country.
And some folks — specifically those who aren’t trans — might be wondering: “why does this even matter?” Well, who’s to say that other groups won’t be targeted? In fact, they already are: By stripping away DEI initiatives that help underserved communities get a seat at the table, he’s clearly removing the chair from under them. For the president, it means “Making America Great Again.”
But for the country’s diverse citizens, it’s another way of saying, “You Don’t Belong Here.” Trump’s latest move only increases the levels of discrimination transgender people already have to deal with, including bans for funding on gender-affirming care. The administration’s moves prove that when you’re a minority in this country, nobody is safe.