The New Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Abstract

In the wake of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” laws that were passed by Congress and later repealed, a new story is emerging of unjust discrimination against transgender troops. Unlike Canada, Australia, England and Israel, the United States bans transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. Army. This ban is found in Department of Defense regulations, which suggest that transgender individuals are medically unfit to serve in the U.S. Army. Recently, a San Francisco think tank published a report that criticizes the military’s transgender ban and calls for President Barack Obama to bypass Congress and lift the ban through an executive order. For more information on the think tank report see: Transgender Military Service Repot http://www.palmcenter.org/files/Transgender%20Military%20Service%20Report.pdf Panel Urges End to US Ban on Transgender Troops http://www.wdam.com/story/24963555/panel-urges-end-to-us-ban-on-transgender-troop Further Reading on Transgender Health Issues: About a Boy. Transgender surgery at sixteen. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/03/18/130318fa_fact_talbot?currentPage=all College Health Plans Respond as Transgender Students Gain Visibility http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/education/12sexchange.html?_r=0