This is HUGE!

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This posting is from: Vickie Stone
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Commission: 'No Compelling Medical Reason' for Military Transgender Ban
Friday, 14 Mar 2014 10:15 AM
By Melanie Batley

An independent commission has concluded there "is no compelling medical
reason" for the U.S. military to continue its ban on allowing
transgender people to serve, recommending that President Barack Obama
overturn the regulations with an executive order.

The commission, lead by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders,
said in a report released Thursday that the decades-old ban was based on
a previously held belief by the medical community that gender-identity
issues amount to a mental disorder, thereby making transgender people
psychologically and physically unfit for the service, according to=A0CBS
News.=A0

"We determined not only that there is no compelling medical reason for
the ban, but also that the ban itself is an expensive, damaging, and
unfair barrier to healthcare access for the approximately 15,450
transgender personnel who serve currently in the active, Guard, and
reserve components," according to the report by the panel, which was
convened by a San Francisco State University think tank, CBS News said.

The current regulations require transgender service members either to
leave the service or forgo the medical procedures and other changes to
align their bodies with their gender identities.

The ban also implies that hormone treatment and sex-change surgeries
would be too difficult, disruptive, and expensive, a premise rejected by
the commission as out of step with modern medical practices.

The commission recommends that the president issue an executive order to
overturn the existing rules. The Pentagon would then need to develop
procedures for assigning service members who are transitioning.

"At this time there are no plans to change the department's policy and
regulations which do not allow transgender individuals to serve in the
U.S. military," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a defense department
spokesman, told CBS News.

Advocates of a change in policy, including retired Brig. Gen. Thomas
Kolditz, who is a former Army commander and West Point professor on the
commission, say allowing transgender people to openly serve would reduce
gender-based harassment, assaults, and suicides, while enhancing
national security.

"When you closet someone, you create a security risk, and we don't need
another Chelsea Manning," Kolditz told CBS News, referring to the
soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning who came out as transgender
after being sentenced for leaking classified documents to the website
WikiLeaks.

Those who oppose lifting the ban say that putting transgender people in
barracks, showers, and other sex-segregated situations could cause
sexual assaults to increase, infringe on the privacy of nontransgender
personnel, and put an extra burden on people who are serving.

At least a dozen countries, including Australia, Canada, the United
Kingdom, and Israel, allow military service by transgender people,
according to CBS News.

Related Stories:

* Bradley Manning Says He'll Live as a Woman Named 'Chelsea'
* For the Military, 2013 Marked a New Era of Gender-Related Issues


Sincerely

Vickie Stone

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(This posting was entered by Vickie Stone, an external user of MyDLV.)