Originally Posted by
ORAC
KenV, please post some links.
I am transgender .....and haven't felt suicidual since transitioning yet, and it doesn't reflect the feelings of others who have transitioned.... facts on the ground - Just saying...
A high suicide rate does not even remotely suggest transgenders are 100% suicidal. Even with an 800% higher
rate, the great majority of transgenders are not suicidal. Most cope just fine. My point about the suicide rates is being transgender is fundamentally different than being gay. This is a mental/emotional disorder with real issues that must be addressed and not ignored. As I said previously, I see no problem in allowing transgenders to serve in the future just as they are serving now IF they are coping with their dysphoria, as most do. And as I said previously, I suspect that those transgenders who are not coping with their dysphoria will self select out of the military. Manning was clearly an exception. That being said, I believe that a transgender in the military who decides to undergo hormone treatment puts him/her self and the service in a real bind. Diabetics can't serve because the nature of the military means their supply of needles, insulin, etc are not sure in a battle environment. The same problem would exist for a transgender undergoing hormone treatment. Or is the solution to allow both transgenders undergoing hormone treatment and diabetics to serve? That sounds awfully risky to me.
Now as for the article you cited, it's clear that it has an agenda when it claims that barring transgenders from the military is "unconstitutional." That right simply does not exist. No one has the right to serve. NO ONE.