News
Trump defends trans military ban: ‘They take massive amounts of drugs’
President fears enlistment for obtaining gender reassignment surgery
In the aftermath of his tweet wishing LGBT Americans a happy Pride, President Trump defended his transgender military ban, asserting the policy is necessary because “they take massive amounts of drugs.”
Trump made the comments Wednesday during his trip to the United Kingdom in an interview with Piers Morgan on “Good Morning Britain,” who asked him about the anti-trans policy.
Initially, Morgan framed the question to Trump in terms of justifying his Pride tweet and his support for his administration global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality. Trump referred to anti-gay criminalization laws as “terrible.”
But then Morgan asked Trump how he could justify banning transgender people from the military if he wants to support LGBT people across the globe.
“Because they take massive amounts of drugs,” Trump said. “They have to, and also, and youāre not allowed to take any drugs. You know, in the military, youāre not allowed to take any drugs. You take an aspirin, and they have to after the operation. They have to. They have no choice. They have to. You would actually have to break rules and regulations in order to have that.”
The Trump administration implemented the transgender military ban in April after the U.S. Supreme Court essentially green lighted the policy as litigation against it proceeds in court.
As Morgan noted, the cost of transition-related care for transgender people in the military is “minuscule.” According to Pentagon data, the Defense Department spent nearly $8 million to treat more than 1,500 transgender troops since 2016, when openly transgender people was first implemented during the Obama administration.
Morgan pointed out the cost of drugs to treat erectile dysfunction under the military health care system was higher than the estimated cost of transition-related care. Trump said he “didn’t know” that was the case.
Asked again by Morgan if the transgender policy was contrary to protecting LGBT human rights around the world, Trump said, “It what it is.”
“Look, massive amounts ā and people are going in, then asking for the operation,” Trump said. “The operation is 200,000, 250,000 dollars, and getting the operation, the recovery period is long, and they have to take large amounts of drugs after that, for whatever reason, but large amounts. And thatās not the way it is. I mean, you canāt do that.”
Trump concluded transgender people getting into the military to have gender reassignment surgery and the cost of transition-related care were the reasons he banned them from the armed forces.
“So, I said, yeah, when it came time to making a decision on that and because of the drugs and also because of the cost of the operation,” Trump said.
When Morgan pointed out transgender people are serving in the military with distinction, Trump said he has no beef with them.
“Well, Iām proud of them,” Trump said. “Iām proud of them. I think itās great, but you have to have a standard, and you have to stick by that standard. We have a great military, and I want to keep it that way. Maybe theyād be phenomenal. I think they probably would be, but you have very strict rules and regulations on drugs and prescription drugs and all of these different things. They blow it all out of the water.”
Aaron Belkin, director of the San Francisco-based Palm Center, said in a statement Trump’s comments were totally without merit because he “repeated the debunked canards that medical care for transgender service members is unmanageably expensive.”
“This morningās interview should send chills down the spine of every American who believes our military deserves the highest level of informed decision making from its leaders, not prejudice masked as policy,” Belkin said.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement “should stick to the facts” on transgender service.
“Transgender service members meet the same physical and medical standards as their cisgender counterparts,” Smith said. “As members of the one percent of the population willing to serve our nation, they deserve praise for their sacrifice, not judgement and discrimination.”
Maryland
Montgomery County police chief discusses arrest of trans student charged with planned school shooting
County executive tells news conference studentās trans identity is irrelevant to criminal charge
Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief Marcus Jones joined other county and law enforcement officials at a news conference on Friday, April 19, to provide details of the police investigation and arrest of an 18-year-old high school student charged two days earlier with threats of mass violence based on information that he allegedly planed a mass shooting at the high school and elementary school he attended in Rockville, Md.
In charging documents and in a press released issued on April 18, Montgomery CountyĀ PoliceĀ identified the arrested student as āAndrea Ye, of Rockville, whose preferred name is Alex Ye.ā
One of the charging documents states that a friend of Ye, who police say came forward as a witness who played a crucial role in alerting authorities to Yeās threats of a school shooting, noted that Ye told the witness that Ye identified as the transgender student he wrote about asĀ aĀ character in a 129-page manifesto outlining plans for a schoolĀ shooting. Police have said Ye told them theĀ manifestoĀ was a fictional story he planned to publish. Ā
At the news conference on Friday, Police Chief Jones and other law enforcement officials, including an FBI official and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, referred to the student as Alex Ye and Mr. Ye. None of the officials raised the issue of whether Ye identified as a transgender man, seven though one of the police documents identifies Ye as a ābiological female.ā
County Executive Elrich appeared to express the views of the public officials at the news conference when one of the media reporters, during a question-and-answer period, asked Elrich why he and the others who spoke at the news conferment failed to āadmit that this individual was transgender.ā
āBecause itās not a lead,ā Elrich replied, asking if the press and law enforcement authorities should disclose that someone arrested for murder is āa white Christian male whoās heterosexual.ā Elrich stated, āNo, you donāt ā You never publish somebodyās sexual orientation when we talk about this. Why you are focusing on this being a transgender is beyond me. Itās not a news story. It is not a crime to be transgender.ā
The reporter attempted to respond but was cut off by the press conference moderator, who called on someone else to ask the next question.
In his remarks at the press conference Chief Jones praised the so far unidentified witness who was the first to alert authorities about Yeās manifestoĀ appearingĀ to make threats of a mass school shooting.
āNow, this is a situation that highlights the critical importance of vigilance and community involvement in preventing potential tragedies,ā Jones said. āI commend the collaborative efforts of the Montgomery County Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rockville City Police Department, and the Montgomery County Public Schools, as well as Montgomery County Health and Human Services,ā he told the gathering.
āThanks to their swift action and cooperation a potentially catastrophic event was prevented,ā Jones said.
Jones pointed out that during the current school year, police have received reports of 140 threats to the public schools in Montgomery County. He said after a thorough investigation, none of them rose to the level where an arrest was made. Instead, police and school officials took steps to arrange for the student making the threats and their parents to take remedial action, including providing mental health services.
āBut this case is different,ā Jones said. āThis case is entirely different that takes it to a different level. It was a concerned witness who brought this matter to light by rereporting the suspectāsĀ manifestoĀ to the authorities. This underscores the value of community engagement and the āsee something say somethingā approach,ā he said.
Jones mentioned at the press conference that Ye was being held without bond since the time of his arrest but was scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on Friday shortly after the press conference took place to determine whether he should be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held.
In his manifesto obtained by police, Ye writes about committing a school shooting, and strategizes how to carry out the act. Ye also contemplates targeting an elementary school and says that he wants to be famous.
In charging documents reported on by WJLA 7 and WBAL 11, the 129-page document, which Ye has referred to as a book of fiction, included writings that said, in part:
“I want to shoot up a school. I’ve been preparing for months. The gun is an AR-15. This gun is going to change lives tomorrow … As I walk through the hallways, I cherry pick the classrooms that are the easiest targets. I need to figure out how to sneak the gun in. I have contemplated making bombs. The instructions to make them are surprisingly available online. I have also considered shooting up my former elementary school because little kids make easier targets. High school’s the best target; I’m the most familiar with the layout. I pace around my room like an evil mastermind. I’ve put so much effort into this. My ultimate goal would be to set the world record for the most amount of kills in a shooting. If I have time, I’ll try to decapitate my victims with a knife to turn the injuries into deaths.”
Federal Government
Lambda Legal praises Biden-Harris administration’s finalized Title IX regulations
New rules to take effect Aug. 1
The Biden-Harris administration’s revised Title IX policy “protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and other abuse,” Lambda Legal said in a statement praising the U.S. Department of Education’s issuance of the final rule on Friday.
Slated to take effect on Aug. 1, the new regulations constitute an expansion of the 1972 Title IX civil rights law, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding.
Pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the landmark 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County case, the department’s revised policy clarifies that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity constitutes sex-based discrimination as defined under the law.
āThese regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,ā Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said during a call with reporters on Thursday.
While the new rule does not provide guidance on whether schools must allow transgender students to play on sports teams corresponding with their gender identity to comply with Title IX, the question is addressed in a separate rule proposed by the agency in April.
The administration’s new policy also reverses some Trump-era Title IX rules governing how schools must respond to reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which were widely seen as imbalanced in favor of the accused.
Jennifer Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, said during Thursday’s call that the department sought to strike a balance with respect to these issues, “reaffirming our longstanding commitment to fundamental fairness.”
āWe applaud the Biden administration’s action to rescind the legally unsound, cruel, and dangerous sexual harassment and assault rule of the previous administration,” Lambda Legal Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project Director Sasha Buchert said in the group’s statement on Friday.
“Todayās rule instead appropriately underscores that Title IX’s civil rights protections clearly cover LGBTQ+ students, as well as survivors and pregnant and parenting students across race and gender identity,” she said. “Schools must be places where students can learn and thrive free of harassment, discrimination, and other abuse.”
Maryland
Rockville teen charged with plotting school shooting after FBI finds āmanifestoā
Alex Ye charged with threats of mass violence
BY BRETT BARROUQUERE | A Montgomery County high school student is charged with what police describe as plans to commit a school shooting.
Andrea Ye, 18, of Rockville, whose preferred name is Alex Ye, is charged with threats of mass violence. Montgomery County Police and the FBI arrested Ye Wednesday.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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