American Medical Association backs allowing trans people in the military
The American Medical Association has released a motion calling for trans people to serve openly in the US military.
Despite that the ban on gay, lesbian or bisexual members, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, was repealed in 2011, the ban on transgender military service is still in place.
The US Military bans transgender people under outdated medical regulations – which disqualifies people from service if they have “current or history of psychosexual conditions, including but not limited to transsexualism, exhibitionism, transvestism, voyeurism, and other paraphilias”.
According to estimations by the Palm Center, there are 15,500 active transgender members of the US military.
The AMA’s report comes shortly after the US Air Force said trans people should no longer be barred from serving. It says there is “no medically valid reason to exclude transgender individuals from service in the U.S. military” and “transgender service members [should] be provided care as determined by patient and physician according to the same medical standards that apply to non-transgender personnel”.
The New York Times newspaper also recently came out in favour of trans military service members, saying: “While transgender civilians in the federal work force enjoy robust legal protections from discrimination, those in the armed forces may be discharged at any moment.
“The Pentagon, shamefully, has yet to rescind anachronistic personnel guidelines that prohibit openly transgender people from joining in the military, labeling their condition a ‘paraphilia,’ or perversion.”
