US President Donald Trump has avoided imposing a total ban on transgender people serving in the US military, giving Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis the power to rule on a case-by-case basis, but his new policy means that most transgender people will not be able to serve.
In a decree issued late Friday night by the White House, Trump stressed that transgender people who feel "uncomfortable with their gender" and "may need serious medical treatment (…), medication or surgery, can not to serve in the armed forces, except in exceptional circumstances ".
The "new policy was drafted after extensive study," according to the new US presidential decree, and comes into effect after Matisse and Homeland Security Secretary Kirsten Nielsen concluded that some transgender people could be a threat to the "effectiveness" of the US. armed forces.
House Speaker Democrats in the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi immediately condemned the new presidential decree, denouncing an "equally cowardly, disgusting ban as the president announced last summer" and adding that "no man in power "Courage to serve in the US military should not be prosecuted because of who he is."
"The president's hate speech is designed to humiliate the brave transgender members of the military who serve with honor and dignity," she added. "It will damage the readiness (of the armed forces) and reduce our strength, because we are strengthening our army by honoring our values, freedom and equality. "Once again, the presidential agenda of hatred and prejudice dictates national security policies, rather than honor, dignity and power."
Last August, Trump signed a decree banning all transgender people from serving in the armed forces, implementing what he had announced via Twitter a month earlier. The ban was challenged in court.
Trump's decree cancels the policy of Barack Obama's predecessor, which allowed transgender people to join and serve in the US military.
