Letter to the Commander in Chief, President Donald Trump,
Dear Mr. President:
By March 23, 2018, you have a plan to no longer allow transgender individuals to serve in the military forces. I believe this idea is severely flawed and will negatively affect not only your presidency, but also the lives of many Americans.
By March 23, 2018, you have a plan to no longer allow transgender individuals to serve in the military forces. I believe this idea is severely flawed and will negatively affect not only your presidency, but also the lives of many Americans.
Transgender people have just as much right to defend the United States as all other Americans. A study commissioned by the Department of Defense from the Rand Corporation (Source 1) found that, “there are no readiness implications that prevent transgender people from serving openly and that numerous foreign militaries have successfully permitted upon service” (Source 2). One of your major arguments is about the cost of medical care for the transgender troop members. This study also proved that the medical cost would be very small. Transgender troop members can be held to the same standards as their respective counterparts. They can keep up and be successful in the military. For a very long time, people were not even allowed to be openly gay in the military. That has become such an outdated idea.
I believe I was the most alarmed by the comments in support of your tweet about not allowing transgender people into the service. Many people had very vividly cruel language to describe the people in the LGBTQ+ community. Dear Mr. President, you are the President for all Americans. We all need your help to encourage feelings that we can all love and respect each other based on our moral strength and our contributions, and we need you to discourage the hatred and hostility shown against people in the LGBTQ+ community.
The men and women fighting for the protection of our nation should be able to be comfortable in their own skin. I do not see any threat to our country or the effectiveness of our soldiers, sailors, and aviators by having a transgender member of the military. I see more benefit than anything else. Allowing a diverse group of people to serve in any capacity will allow more perspectives. More perspectives offer a greater ability to problem solve and create innovative new solutions. This idea can work especially in the military sector. If women and men are both allowed to serve in the military, so should transgender people.
President Trump, I sincerely ask that you reconsider, if for nothing else, I believe this to be a very basic right. You have many things to gain, and the country will gain, if you do not follow through with your idea to restrict Transgender persons out of the military. I wish you the best in making an educated and well-informed decision about the troops.
Best,
[A student in the SWK-355 class]
P.S. the rest of the study can be found at http://www.hrc.org/resources/transgender-military-service
Source 1: Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly .
Source 2: Transgender Military Service
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