UA Students Debate Supreme Court Decision on Transgender Military Service

Students at the University of Alabama disagree on the Supreme Court decision prohibiting most transgender people from serving in the military.

In a 5-4 decision on Jan. 22, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s request to bar most transgender people from military service. The ruling grants exceptions for those willing to serve in their “biological sex” and those already serving openly due to previous legislation which opened the military to transgender service members in 2016.

The recent policy change has sparked student debates regarding the intent and effectiveness of the ruling.

The ruling was “a lot more political than practical,” said Issac Younker, a junior at the University of Alabama.

“I do agree with rules against combat roles for people who are transitioning but … the actual wording of [the new policy] is essentially discriminatory. It has nothing to do with physical capability or with actual scientific basis … this specific law is literally just trying to keep transgender people out of the military itself,” said Jordan Tzabari, a junior at the University of Alabama.

“The decision was made purely out of fear and misunderstanding, it had no basis in actual necessity” said Mark DiMilia, a junior at the University of Alabama. “Transgender people have a right to join the military and right to at least compete in the requirements for whatever position [they] desire to be in.”

Despite differing opinions about the intent of the policy, many students agreed that, in effect, the new ruling was not a necessity.

“Despite its good intentions, the legislation issued ineffectively addresses a perceived, and possibly false, cause, instead of the actual issue it aims to prevent,” said David Schillmoeller, a junior at the University of Alabama. “While there may be a legitimacy behind performance concerns for those transitioning during service, gender reassignment prior to enlistment, however, shouldn’t impact the enlisted person if they are still able to meet requirements set forth by the military.”

The subject of this ruling is rooted in problems deeper than the simple question of whether or not transgender service members should be allowed in the military, and our government is “losing productivity by focusing legislation on this specific aspect as opposed to addressing the actual problems at root here,” said Karsyn Routh, a sophomore at the University of Alabama.

February 1, 2019 | By Katherine Fish