Two organizations critical of social engineering contend the Obama administration's overturned policy allowing unrestricted participation in the U.S. military by transgenders conflicted with reality.
The Obama policy implemented three years ago exempted transgendered troops from some military standards and paid for special psychological and medical care to enable them to remain in the military.
The Trump administration restored the partial ban, and the Pentagon just days ago began implementing the new policy.
Transgendered individuals already in the ranks will be allowed to continue, but those with gender dysphoria who are taking hormones or had a gender transition won't be allowed to enlist.
That prompted the Palm Center, an LGBT activist group, to complain that the Trump policy "is insidious in operation but designed to be as comprehensive a ban as possible."
"In that sense, it is a perfect parallel to the failed 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, also sold as not being a ban although designed to systemically push gay people out of military service – or at least keep them silent and invisible."
The Family Research Council, whose leadership includes experts in military matters, said the problem is that most critics of Trump's plan simply don't understand it.
"This is true even of groups presenting themselves as experts – like the American Medical Association," FRC said. "The AMA was quoted last week criticizing the Pentagon document to implement the policy for using the word 'deficiencies' in explaining when transgender service members may be separated from the military. AMA president Dr. Barbara L. McAneny told the Associated Press, 'The only thing deficient is any medical science behind this decision.'"
However, FRC said, "the Pentagon did not apply the word 'deficiencies' to any individual's transgender status, or even to a diagnosis of 'gender dysphoria.' The word referred quite explicitly to a 'failure to adhere to ... standards' – namely, 'the standards associated with his or her biological sex.' In other words, it refers to 'deficiencies' in a service member's conduct, not their physical or psychological state."
People with "gender dysphoria" need to be excluded because it's a specific medical diagnosis, and "it is associated with significant mental health problems, as the AMA should know. The Pentagon's Report and Recommendations last year found, 'Service members with gender dysphoria are eight times more likely to attempt suicide than Service members as a whole' and 'nine times more likely to have mental health encounters.'"
Those who need medical treatments are restricted in their duties and, therefore, essentially undeployable for months at a time, the report said.
Then there's the concern of biological males who say they're women bunking and showering with women.
"As a recent DoD summary made clear, it was actually the Obama policy that was 'discriminatory' – because it exempted transgender persons from standards that apply to others with similar mental and physical conditions. President Trump deserves credit for taking a fresh look at this issue and returning to a rational policy based upon what is best for the military, rather than just accepting his predecessor's unilateral, eleventh hour policy that was motivated not by military readiness, but political correctness," the FRC report said.
The Center for Military Readiness said Congress' recent vote to oppose Trump's military plan essentially was a plea to U.S. troops to rebel against their commander-in-chief.
HR 124, a non-binding "sense of Congress" measure, expressed "opposition" to "banning" transgenders from the military.
CMR said the resolution "should have been called the 'Military Mutiny Resolution.'"
"The bill includes a string of inaccurate and misleading 'Whereas' statements, ending with a 'resolved' clause that "strongly urges the Department of Defense to not reinstate President Trump's ban on transgender members of the Armed Forces."
In Congress, CMR said, "several 'woke' speakers lined up to vilify the president and people who support the Trump/Mattis transgender policy as 'bigots,' comparable to those who favored racial segregation in the military before President Harry Truman ended it."
CMR said the "toxic rhetoric and factual inaccuracies streaming from the Democratic side of the aisle were not a credit to Congress. Several times the presiding officer pro tem, Han tk Johnson (D-GA), cautioned Speaker Pelosi and others about 'engaging in personalities,' meaning personal attacks."
The organization said: "The 238 members of the House who voted in favor of the Mutiny Resolution apparently think that implementing their preferred policy position is more important than fundamental principles of good order and discipline, obedience to lawful authority, and civilian control of the military. All should be held accountable for supporting HR 124, an irresponsible resolution urging the military to disobey, ignore, or resist the lawful orders and directives of the president and leaders in the chain of command."