In a video released yesterday by the Family Policy Alliance, the public policy arm of Christian Right group Focus on the Family, attorney Stephanie Curry defended Donald Trump‘s ban on transgender people in the military by stressing that Trump, unlike President Obama, actually wants to win wars.

As if Obama was sacrificing success on the field to win a social issue.

The new guidelines from the Trump administration answer the question that the former Obama administration failed to answer, and that is: What is the purpose of the military? And Trump so clearly said it’s to win. Decisively… … … the Obama administration didn’t effectively assess whether the transgender mandate would be good for the military. Would it be good for winning and defending America? And Trump has unequivocally said no, no this transgender mandate is not good, and we’re gonna begin the process of undoing it.

This is bullshit on so many levels.

She makes it sound like Obama woke up one day and tweeted that transgender people could suddenly be in the military, and then thousands of them signed up. That’s not how it works. (At least, that’s not how it used to work.)

In fact, there were already thousands of trans people serving in the military before Obama signed his order. They just weren’t all open about it. But they met all the other criteria. Obama’s decision allowed them to serve openly. And he only said as much after consulting with people in charge. The RAND Corp. also released a study (commissioned by the Pentagon) that found that military healthcare costs for openly trans people would go up by a mere 0.13% — a few million dollars total. That’s nothing. That’s roughly the cost of a trip to Mar-a-Lago for Trump.

If having trans people in the military impedes our success, then I agree we have a problem. But there’s just no evidence of that. This is the same fear-mongering we heard from Christians when they tried blocking gay people from serving openly. They were lying then and they’re lying now.

You know who didn’t do any research before changing the policy? Trump. He just shat it out one morning without consulting any military leaders, who are now scrambling to deal with his bigoted whims. Dozens of retired generals and admirals have already spoken out against the ban, arguing that it would “cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent,” and “degrade readiness even more than the failed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.”

And remember that trans people currently serving will not be kicked out. The ban would only apply to new recruits. The hypocrisy there is self-evident. If trans people aren’t a problem when they’re already in the military, why would new trans soldiers lead to a loss on the battlefield?

Curry, like the other supporters of this ban, don’t give a damn about military readiness. If they did, they would listen to the soldiers and leaders who say this is a horrible idea. They’re starting with the premise that trans people don’t deserve equal rights and then advocating for policy changes based on that.

Just think about this: Is there any amount of evidence that would lead the Family Policy Alliance to say they’re on board with letting trans troops serve openly? I doubt it.

That’s how conservative Christians operate. They come up with the conclusions first, then make up reasons to believe it. They never follow the evidence.

(Thanks to Mark for the link)

