In the midst of Trump’s incredibly controversial presidential career, the Trump administration has found yet another way to alienate minority groups. The Supreme Court approved Donald Trump’s transgender military ban this past Tuesday, causing a spark of outrage among the LGBTQ+ community.

The policy states that individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria aren’t allowed to serve. It also states that those not affected by gender dysphoria must enlist by the sex they were assigned at birth. However, there are a few exceptions to this new policy. Service members are allowed to serve if they have been “stable” for three years prior to enlisting.

In this case, stable means that the individual has completed their surgical transition and completed hormone therapy. Other exceptions include being diagnosed with gender dysphoria prior to the implementation of the policy or not requiring a change in gender or sex. Not having a history of gender dysphoria is the final exception to the transgender military ban.

The trans military ban was first proposed by Trump on Twitter in 2017. He stated, “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming… victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgenders in the military would entail.” This tweet is telling us that our current president believes that our transgender troops are a burden. Our patriots should never be treated this way, especially by a president who claims to want the best for the country.

The transgender military ban was approved before justices heard arguments on the validity of the policy. No explanation was given for their decision. The Supreme Court’s decision seems to come from transphobia under the guise of policy. The Trump administration has stated that transgender people pose too great of a risk to the effectiveness of our military. The administration’s only purpose is to instill fear based on ignorance rather than fact.

Only a couple of days after the policy was approved, a question regarding the constitutionality of the policy has arised. Many believe the ban to be violating the Fourteenth Amendment. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, all citizens must be granted equal protection of laws, which protects against discrimination based on gender identity. The transgender military ban definitely violates the Amendment and goes against the American ideal of community.

Prior to Trump’s presidency, the Obama Administration had announced that transgender Americans may serve openly. The Obama administration also covered the medical costs of the members who wished to undergo surgical transition. The new transgender military ban only serves to undo the progress that the Obama administration had made, which seems to be a trend with our current president.

U.S. troops should be respected and honored. As tribute to their immense sacrifice, transgender members should have their medical expenses covered. The Trump administration argues that those who require surgical transition or hormone therapy are not able to be deployed for longer than one year.

However, if the medical staff was properly equipped and trained, transgender members would face no problems. The equipment needed to support transgender service members would lead to a small increase of 0.04 – 0.13% in military spending. The Trump Administration’s new policy was never rooted in proven fact. Instead, the policy is rooted in hate, ignorance and discrimination.