The American army has announced that it would no longer accept transgender people in the hope of enlisting or facilitating gender assertion for active soldiers.
The note filed at the Washington American District Court, DC, is on Monday the last effort of the administration of President Donald Trump to retreat the protections for transgender people.
“In immediate accounting, all new accessions for people with gender dysphoria history,” wrote the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, in the note, who was dated February 7.
“All unforeseen, programmed or planned medical procedures associated with the assertion or facilitation of a gender transition for the military is interrupted.”
The Trump administration led the restriction of the rights of transgender people in the army as a necessary step to ensure “military preparation”. He also castigated what he calls the promotion of “radical gender ideology” within the armed forces, part of his broader campaign against diversity initiatives.
But the criticisms say that the note on Monday and the measures connected to erase transgender identity, perpetuate discrimination and force the transgender soldiers to live in secret and fear.
Lawyers say that up to 15,000 transgender people are currently used in the US military, of a population of 1.3 million soldiers in active service.
An current campaign
In the United States, there is relatively widespread support for transgender soldiers and soldiers. The Gallup research company has published a report On Monday, who found that 58% of Americans had approved to allow openly transgender people to serve in the army.
But Gallup noted that this number had decreased from previous heights. In 2019, for example, the approval rating was 71%. By 2021, however, it fell 66% – then 58% this year.
The company noted that the Republicans and, to a lesser extent, the self -employed had reduced the number.
Trump has repeatedly targeted transgender people during this period. During his first mandate, from 2017 to 2021, he also moved to prohibit transgender people from the military service.
“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please note that the United States government will not accept or allow”, it wrote more than two publications In 2017, “transgender individuals are used for any capacity in the American army”.
Former President Joe Biden repealed this restriction. But while Trump took office for his second term this year, he renewed his campaign against transgender people, signing a executive decree During his first day, denying the existence of “self-evaluated gender identity”.
A few days later, on January 27, he signed another executive decreeSpecifically directed to the military.
“The affirmation of a man according to which he is a woman, and his requirement according to which the others honor this lie, does not in accordance with the humility and altruism required of a member of the service,” said order.
On February 3, a group of civil rights organizations filed a temporary request prohibition order Against Trump’s decision, on behalf of six members of the Transgender service and two trying to enlist.
They submitted their request to the Washington American District Court, DC. As part of their complaint, they included the testimony of a 28 -year -old transgender woman, Miriam Perelson, who served in the American army.
It looked like it had to be classified as a man or be expelled from the military. She also explained that she had been responsible for leaving the women’s sleeping area and sleeping on a bed bed in an empty classroom, in addition to being forbidden to use women’s toilets.
“I have spent more than half of my life in the army, including fighting in Afghanistan,” said army Kate Cole, another applicant of the pursuit, in a press release.
“The withdrawal of qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced staff who occupies key positions and cannot be easily replaced, which puts the burden on our soldiers’ colleagues. It’s simply bad – and it destabilizes our armed forces. »»
The campaign to restrict the rights of transgenderness, however, extends beyond the army.
On February 5, Trump also signed an order threatening to retain the financing of schools that allowed transgender women to participate in female sports.
And in the state of Utah on Monday, the state legislature approved a bill that prohibits transgender students from living in dormitories that comply with their gender identity, the first restriction of this type to target Explicitly transgender people at University Housing.
“If you do not settle in,” said a republican legislator during the debate on the bill, “then it’s your fault”.
