Earlier this week, in a series of manic Tweets, Donald Trump announced an impromptu ban on transpeople serving in the military — a move that caught the Pentagon unawares, sparked massive protests, and has infuriated the better part of the nation.
Related: Following Trump’s trans military ban, Liam Payne pledges support for the LGBTQ community
Staff Sgt. Logan Ireland, one of the most respected transpeople currently serving in the military, was quick to stand up to the ban.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Snap shots of FaceTime sessions with one another…EXACTLY 2 YEARS APART TODAY!!! 💚💛💙 #wehavecomealongway #makingitwork…
Posted by Laila & Logan Ireland on Thursday, October 27, 2016
“I would like to see them try to kick me out of my military,” he tells Air Force Times.
“You are not going to deny me my right to serve my country when I am fully qualified and able and willing to give my life.”
In 2012, Ireland began transitioning, coming out three years later.
He’s currently married to Cpl. Laila Villanueva, a trans woman, and their relationship was explored in a 2015 New York Times documentary, “Transgender, at War and in Love.”
“For the president to deny an able-bodied, fully qualified person the inherent right to raise their right hand and serve their country, potentially giving their own life for our freedoms, is doing this country an injustice,” says Ireland.
“I would personally love for my president to meet me so I can tell him about myself, and the 15,500 honorably-serving transgender military members that are fighting right now for their liberties and their country….
We have pilots, we have doctors, we have combat medics, we have security forces members like myself. We are everywhere in the military, and for our president to not have a military member’s back that is willing to die for him, blows my mind. And it just makes me very motivated today to continue my training.”
The story, which deserves to be read in its entirety, can be found here.
Smith David
Good for him. BTW..he’s hot!
Ksb1978
He is! The pic Queerty used for the tweet is amazing!
Danny595
i wonder: if this person 1 week from now came out and said “I was wrong about my identification as a man. I am actually a woman and always have been a woman” – would you still think she is “hot.” Are you really attracted to females who look like men? Or are you just virtue-signalling?
am_psi
Being able-bodied is not the same as being sound-minded. Trans people are already at much greater risk of attempting suicide than the general population, should they really be put in extremely stressful situations?
Kieru
This is the same logic that the Red Cross uses to deny all blood from men who have sex with men. It is applying macro-statistics on a micro level.
The fact that transgender persons have a higher-than average risk of suicidal ideation or depression does not mean that it applies to every transgender person individually. The enlistment process already has risk assessments for these types of destructive behaviors.
So long as the person passes, what should it matter that they belong to an at-risk group? That would be like denying enlistment to all African-Americans because their community has a higher risk for heart disease.
Charlie in Charge
Definition: Concern Troll
“a person who disingenuously expresses concern about an issue with the intention of undermining or derailing genuine discussion.”
Ummmm Yeah
I agree am_psi. How many more Bradley Mannings can the US deal with before national security is breached?
Lvng1Tor
Trans individuals that are able to medically transition (normally just HRT and hormone blockers) dress in a way that corresponds to their gender identity, have correct pronouns used, correct name used and have family support are only at a slightly higher rate of suicide than the national average. In other words when treated correctly for gender-dysphoria and not being treated like sub human, trans people are at a negligible risk. Regardless, what should all of these statistics mean when someone has already been through the military psych evals and cleared for duty.
Using your argument cis gay people also have a much higher rate of suicide than cis hets. Should we not be able to be doctors, cops, firemen, soldiers etc? And like trans individuals, most of the mental health issues can be traced back to societal and family pressures not ingrained mental illness.
As for the CHELSEA Manning comment…WTF!?! Seriously, again, taking one person’s actions and applying it across the board to infer it is a common trait or something to worry about. F’n fear tactics used instead of facts because you can figure out no other way to back up your bigotry. Same strategy used against black men (animals, rapists, criminals) Mexicans (rapists, criminals, job thieves) Gays (pedophiles, weak) etc. So many cis hets do AWFUL things on a daily but it’s never held against them, their gender or sexuality. Wow you’re a white cis het man…doesn’t Hitler just make you ashamed to be someone just like him?
am_psi
“Seriously, again, taking one person’s actions and applying it across the board to infer it is a common trait or something to worry about. ”
Couldn’t that argument apply to this whole article? Here’s this one woman who may be a good trans soldier, despite their mental illness. What about all the ones who may be basket cases?
fashionlov
Transgender people cannot be the ONLY group of people in the country that are “… already at much greater risk of attempting suicide than the general population…”
BTW, according to AFSP Williams Suicide Report, suicide attempts among trans men is 45%, trans women 42%, slightly higher than the full sample 41%.
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf
If you don’t want people who is suicidal in the military then do risk assessments on every single soldier, don’t jump to the conclusion that NO Trans is suit to military because they are trans so ALL of them must be haunted with self destructive thoughts.
The writer was just writing to tell us there is a brave, very capable Trans soldier serving in the military right now. There are 15,500 trans in the army, so most likely there are many more trans who are just as qualified as Sgt. Logan Ireland.
scotshot
Why aren’t heterosexual soldiers who come back from war and kill themselves and others treated, or receive very poor treatment? Also, those with severe mental problems who terrorize themselves, families and others not receiving treatment?
Is it ok because it’s just a str8 guy thang?
The suicide rate is much higher for vets than civilians. It’s been said that the high suicide rates are there new normal.
Go back to Breitbart and muck around with that crowd, they believe everything.
am_psi
Mkiel
I f “sound-mined” was a criteria for office the orange blob currently occupying the WH should have been locked up.
Danny595
Lving1Tor- Wrong. Everything you wrote is made-up nonsense. Studies have shown that suicide rates for transgenders who don’t transition are higher than for those who don’t. Something is wrong with them and it isn’t the military’s job to figure out what that is.
ceeebeee
It’s idiots like you who put societal pressure on transgendered to fit into your neat little mold of how everyone should be that causes higher rates of depression and suicide among LGBTQ people. It’s intellectually disingenuous for you to spout that bullshit as a reason for denying others what they want in life.
gayjim1969
I love it when people who know nothing about psychology try to interpret research findings of which they have no understanding. Reseach has found that transgender people are at a significantly higher risk of attempting suicide than their cisgender counterparts; however, it also stated that the reason for that difference was external stressors, not internal factors.
Researchers found that transgender people’s mental health was negatively affected by rejection–real and anticipated–by family and friends, as well as derogatory messages they received during their lifetime regarding transgender people; the thing that is most likely to cause transgender youth to attempt suicide is parental rejection. Conversely, when transgender individuals are accepted by family and friends and are allowed to live their lives openly, their suicidality decreases. They did not, however, find anything inherent to transgender individuals that lead to self-destructive behaviors.
So, no, you can not say that “[h]ere’s this one woman who may be a good trans soldier, despite their mental illness. What about all the ones who may be basket cases?” Scientific research shows that while transgender people, as a group, have higher rates of mental illness–depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts/attempts)–these are caused by external stressors; their issues are extremely treatable with psychotherapy, hormonal therapy, and sex reassignment surgery if desired.
There are thousands of transgender soldiers serving honorably in the US military–and in other country’s militaries, so you can’t say that she is an exception to the rule.
batesmotel
He she is already coming off unstable with that threat, which is why this ban was initiated in the first place. If he’s not afraid to stand up to Donald Trump, then go ahead, secret service will be on that so fast and will lock him up before he has a chance to apologize. Who this guy should be confronting are his own superiors who ratted him out to Trump in the first place stating that Trans people were not fit to serve. This bimbo can’t even figure that out. And no, I’m not against a Trans person or anyone serving who wants to serve and IS qualified and able. This has nothing to do with that. The army can disqualify anyone from having a sore arm to battling with anxiety. Trans people take hormones which can skyrocket out of whack creating a deadly situation for them and their army teammates on any given day. The army isn’t an equal opportunity to employer. You have to prove yourself able.
contrary1
your user name pretty much says it all
Ummmm Yeah
Exactly Bates.
Jaroslaw
Batesmotel. The reason we have a president and not a king is because the Constitution says all men are created equal. Presidents can be questioned, impugned and disagreed with. Mr Ireland is not making a threat by standing up for himself. How do you figure having guts is unstable?
amigay
The only thing out of whack here is Logan’s willingness to put his life on the line to protect yours, but that’s what real patriots do, unlike President Coward.
domen8r
Except that 45 turns out NOT to have consulted the commanding officers that Bates advises trans servicemembers to engage. In fact, they seem to support how able these servicemembers are. 45 used some concern briefly discussed a few months back about medical costs (which, in turn, research shows are no higher if not much lower than pregnancy costs, Viagra supplies, and Maralago jaunts) to justify playing to his shrinking alt-right base by this power play…and even to bargain chip his border wall. His inept dealmaking got exposed and now bigots are butthurt. Buck up, buttercup snowflake. We know you’re fake.
scotshot
Did you work to come off as ignorant as you are?
Where from this article do you draw that SS Ireland has made any sort of threat to the Commander in Chief ? Trump is actually the one with severe mental illness that should disqualify him – and his supporters from dealing with the public in any capacity.
He BGB
This was an irresponsible tweet from the manchild to distract from Russia, Sessions, healthcare mess, the mess with Spicer et. al., got your attention?
Ummmm Yeah
The fact that she can’t comprehend that the military can just kick anyone out, is a good example of how they live in a fantasy world.
Jaroslaw
Ummm the military can kick people out for no reason? I don’t think so.
gayjim1969
Donald, is that you?
isxios
Wow! This comment section, tho, like, WTF!
Ksb1978
Of course the bitter queens gallery is full of transphobic trash comments. The L and the G are so bigoted towards the rest of the community. So sad.
scotshot
Thanks for your irrelevant comment. Run back to Breitbart now.
Danny595
It’s an LGB community. “LGBT” was an invention of political activists who wanted to redirect LGB resources from LGB needs to trans activism. “LGBT” is inherently an anti-gay concept.
OzJosh
The more I read the demented comments of obvious trolls on this site, the more heartened I am. The views expressed couldn’t possibly come from people who would freely choose to peruse a gay news site, so they are clearly organised dissemblers, presumably from far right or extreme religious groups. Ironically, the only purpose they serve is to consolidate the opposition of the vast majority of clear-thinking LGBTI readers. Not only are they failing to sway views, they are pretty much shooting themselves in the foot. So, please, don’t stop, guys. You’re doing us a big favour.
scotshot
It’s said that 50% of the Trolls on the Interweb come from Trump, the Russians or radical christians.
gayjim1969
scotshot–Is there a difference?
GayEGO
Since Trump is tweeting this nonsense to try and make some money for his wall, he fails to notice that the many lawsuits against him will cause him to lose more money. He had to pay $25 million to the plaintiffs of his fake, illegal Trump University, and that is a lot more money than is spent on genital operations.
Danny595
I support the ban. Trans activists are a significant threat to LGB well-being. Therefore, any defeat for trans activism is a victory for LGB people. Hopefully, there will be many more defeats to come. It is up to us to take back our transjacked organizations and to let the transjacked zombies who run those orgs know that we won’t support them if they don’t re-focus on LGB rights and LGB needs.
Record Man
Troll.
luichiede
Of course he’s in a relationship with an asian
ErikO
She does not look like a man or masculine at all.
John
WTF am I reading? So much trans hate here! How can we expect straight people to accept us when we don’t accept people within our own community?
Record Man
It’s not our own community that the hate is coming from, John. It’s coming from a handful of obvious trolls who are trying to sow dissention and disrupt the thread with bigoted comments. Engaging them is pointless, and only brings more of the same.
Danny595
How have you come to the conclusion that gay people are in one community with transgenders, many if not most of whom are not gay?
ErikO
It’s not hate. Trans people and their gender issues should be separated from bisexual and gay/lesbian people.