It takes some real nerve to dodge the draft five times and then try and block Americans who actually do want to serve in the military just because they’re trans, but that’s exactly what Donald Trump has done.
The popular vote loser’s edict-via-tweet “seemed to come as a shock to the Pentagon,” noted Slate, “which was already moving forward, albeit slowly, with plans to lift the ban.” And when you’re thumbing out orders via 140 characters, there are no real plans about, you know, what happens to the thousands of trans Americans who are already openly serving. The whole thing may not even stand up in court. Maybe he did it to shore up his base? Or maybe he did it because he’s an asshole.
Regardless, the patriotism, work ethic, and bravery that Donald Trump is so eager to deport out of the U.S. military and throw away with both totally normal-sized hands has already been offered a new home in one of the largest cities in Texas:
In the first of a series of three tweets, Mayor Steve Adler said, “If you’re qualified to keep our country safe you’re qualified to keep Austin safe. Transgender Americans are welcome on our police force.” Adler continued, tweeting that Austin is the “safest big city in Texas” due to its respect for people’s differences. He also tweeted out a link to the application website for Austin Police Department: “If you get kicked out of the service because you’re transgender, please apply to join our police force.”
In fact, while Republican state legislators are busy pumping out hateful and bigoted legislation that directly targets Texas’s trans population, Latinos, immigrants, even orphans, Austin’s leaders are taking progressive steps by expanding trans representation in the police department and covering trans services in the health care plan for city employees.
And last month, the city sued the state over the racist “show me your papers” legislation, a draconian bill that puts a target squarely on the backs of nearly 40 percent of Texas’s population because they might “look illegal.” To quote a sign at a recent protest against the Republican-led, anti-trans “bathroom bill”: “Y’all means all.”
The Austin Police Department has a transgender officer, and a couple of years ago the city expanded its employee health care plan to cover transgender health services.
In addition, Austin interim Police Chief Brian Manley was among the law enforcement leaders from across Texas who gathered Tuesday at the state Capitol to oppose so-called “bathroom bills” involving transgender people. Manley said such bills would make communities less safe by diverting officers from addressing violent crime to enforcing a bathroom bill.
Austin Police have also taken steps to address their own treatment of transgender people. A task force has worked on redefining how Austin police will identify transgender and gender-nonconforming people after the police department’s handling of the 2016 killing of Monica Loera, a transgender woman who police initially identified by her male birth name.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo—who has been loud in connecting how Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown is actually making communities less safe by making immigrants too fearful to report when they have been victims of crimes or have witnessed a crime—joined Adler in his support of trans military service members.
Adler’s communications director: “Please note that we have an out trans police officer here, a LGBTQ police support group with more than 100 officers, an LGBTQ liaison in the Mayor’s office and a new LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission, and none of this has generated the slightest bit of controversy.”