Trump Reverses Obama Admin. Policy on Transgender Military Personnel

LGBT,

This morning President Trump issued a statement on Twitter, saying,

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you

President Trump’s announcement marks a reinstatement of the military’s longstanding policy concerning transgender individuals.

On July 1, 2016, the Obama Administration began allowing openly transgender individuals in the military. Prior to that, transgender individuals were excluded from the U.S. military.

Below is a press release from our colleagues at Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. concerning today’s announcement.

WASHINGTON, DC — Family Research Council (FRC) praised President Trump’s decision today rescinding the Obama era transgender policy. A Rasmussen survey released last month finds “just 23% of likely U.S. voters think the U.S. military’s decision to allow openly transgender people to serve is good for the military.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, a Marine veteran, released the following statement:

“I applaud President Trump for keeping his promise to return to military priorities — and not continue the social experimentation of the Obama era that has crippled our nation’s military. The military can now focus its efforts on preparing to fight and win wars rather than being used to advance the Obama social agenda.

“President Trump recognizes what the nation’s military leadership and the American people realize, this Obama policy makes no sense.

“The last thing we should be doing is diverting billions of dollars from mission-critical training to something as controversial as gender reassignment surgery. However, the cost to readiness, recruitment, retention, morale and cohesion would have been even greater under the Obama policy. As our nation faces serious national security threats, our troops shouldn’t be forced to endure hours of transgender ‘sensitivity’ classes and politically-correct distractions like this one.

“Now that we are assured that the Defense Department has its fiscal priorities in order, Family Research Council withdraws our opposition to increasing the budget of the Department of Defense through the ‘Make America Secure Appropriations Act’ and looks forward to seeing that legislation pass,” concluded Perkins.

Transgender Policy Could Cost Military Billions Over Ten Years

http://www.frc.org/transgendermilitarycost

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Target CEO Admits Bathroom Policy Announcement Was a Mistake

Transgender, , ,

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Target’s CEO does not seem to regret the company’s decision to invite men into the women’s changing areas and restrooms at its stores–but he does regret the fact the policy was so widely publicized.

You may recall last year Target announced on its website that customers and employees at its stores would be able to use the changing areas and restrooms of their choice rather than their biological sex.

Many people expressed public safety concerns about this decision, and more than a million people signed agreements to boycott Target.

Target has suffered financially since. Today, the American Family Association writes, “Target’s stock has lost 35% of its value, and shuttered plans for major expansion projects.”

Now Target’s CEO Brian Cornell admits, “Target didn’t adequately assess the risk [about publicizing the policy], and the ensuing backlash was self-inflicted.”

Of course, Target has not changed its policy as of today, and nearly 1.5 million Americans are still boycotting the retail chain as a result.

You can sign the pledge to boycott Target here.

You can read the Wall Street Journal article here (subscription required).

You can read more about this story here.

 

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New Report: “Born This Way” Argument Built on Shaky Science

Homosexuality, ,

A new report analyzing a vast body of studies and research casts doubt on the prevailing notion sexual orientation and gender identity are biologically determined.

After analyzing decades of scientific data, researchers concluded,

“Some of the most widely held views about sexual orientation, such as the ‘born that way’ hypothesis, simply are not supported by science. The literature in this area does describe a small ensemble of biological differences between non-heterosexuals and heterosexuals, but those biological differences are not sufficient to predict sexual orientation, the ultimate test of any scientific finding. The strongest statement that science offers to explain sexual orientation is that some biological factors appear, to an unknown extent, to predispose some individuals to a non-heterosexual orientation. . . . .

“In reviewing the scientific literature, we find that almost nothing is well understood when we seek biological explanations for what causes some individuals to state that their gender does not match their biological sex.”

Writing at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, John Stonestreet notes,

Their report also tackles the transgender question, comparing actual research to the lofty claims of activists. Once again, there’s a yawning chasm. Only a tiny minority of children who experience gender dysphoria continue to identify as transgender when they’re adults.

McHugh and Mayer [the researchers] insist that subjecting children to hormone therapy or to so-called “sex reassignment” surgery is an act of sheer ideology, not medicine or compassion.

And, they add, adults who undergo sex-change operations (which the Obama Administration is pressuring health insurers to cover) are still—get this—19 times more likely to commit suicide than the rest of the population.

You may recall in 2012 the former president of the American Psychological Association stated sexual orientation could change, and in 2014 the former psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital explained in the Wall Street Journal why the hospital stopped doing sex-reassignment surgeries.

Homosexual and transgender activists often liken sexual orientation and gender identity to race, claiming they are biologically determined and unchangeable. The science behind that claim, however, seems to be far from settled.

You can listen to John Stonestreet’s full commentary on the issue below.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2016/083116_BP.mp3|titles=’Born This Way’ is Shaky Science]

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