Supreme Court stays lower court ruling, allowing Trump transgender ban to proceed

[ThatRobGuy]

Yes, Rob is making reasonable arguments for excluding some trans people from military service. He has not made any reasonable arguments for excluding all trans people from military service.

What does a risk level need to reach before preemptive exclusion is considered justifiable simply to prudently "play the odds"?

For example:

Commercial airline pilots (not to beat a dead horse with that particular profession, but it is a profession with high risk stakes for a large number of people)

Merely being prescribed antiarrhythmics, blood pressure meds, or any medication that could have a sedating effect, or even insulin in some cases, is disqualifying even if the person hasn't had an episode or any ill effects from said medication and the underlying condition the meds seek to treat is well-controlled.

So if those cohorts of people are getting disqualified for risk levels/ratios that are far lower -- point of reference, for people who are on antiarrhythmics, the overall annual incidence of syncope (fainting) is around 0.5%–1.5% per year.


-- then how is it radically off-base to disqualify someone who has risks of suicidality that are more in the ballpark of 1:4 and 1:3?

"I'd like to think that the person in charge of flying my plan doesn't have a 1 out 4 chance of thinking of offing themselves tonight" isn't an unreasonable concern, so why would it be unreasonable to have the same concern about a person who could be involved in a situation that's every bit as "high stakes"?

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Yes, Rob is making reasonable arguments for excluding some trans people from military service. He has not made any reasonable arguments for excluding all trans people from military service.

My understanding is that the Trump administration’s policy applies only to those who have a gender dysphoria diagnosis on their medical records.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

My understanding is that the Trump administration’s policy applies only to those who have a gender dysphoria diagnosis on their medical records.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most people who have undergone some level of medical transition (whether that be hormonal or surgical) have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. It's hard to justify the discomfort, potential complications, and expense of transition if your current sexual characteristics aren't actually causing any distress.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

As much as all this might be true, firing transgendered people simply and solely because they are trans and not because of any other factor that has actually affected their performance adversely is pure bigotry and discrimination.

The military is not equal opportunity. Even if they have an EO program, they deny aplicants because of their age and medical conditions. Being trans is a medical condition (I would argue it is a mental illness) that disqualifies them from service.