Trump's announcement through Twitter that transgender individuals would no longer be allowed to serve or enlist in the military received quite a lot of backlash, among Democrats who viciously oppose his policies, as well as some Trump supporters. Since I have no problem criticizing Trump, Obama, Bush, or any other previous president, I will feel free to criticize this policy.

Controversial issues such as this one always have two sides that have logical explanations to support both perspectives. I view this as a form of gender discrimination, similar to if women were not allowed to serve in the military. The problem with this issue is that it is both social, as well as a military decision.

Those who support this policy are arguing that the government should not have to pay for hormone treatments or any other medical treatments for transgender individuals. However, it is estimated by a Rand Corp. study that between $2.4 million and $8.4 million is spent on medical costs for transgender individuals, which is a small portion of health care expenditures. As compared to how much the government spends on Viagra for those in the military, which is five times as much, this is not as big of an issue. I am typically not a supporter of "big government," but considering there are between 1,320 to 6,630 transgender individuals in the military, medical costs would not have much of an impact on increasing taxes for Americans.

As mentioned in a Vox article, studies show that allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military has had no effect on military readiness or costs in Israel, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Those who are using the "medical costs" excuse as a reason to agree with this new policy should consider these facts. If someone is transgender and passes physical examinations that are required for the military, why shouldn't they be allowed to serve?

Also, if transgender individuals are choosing to sacrifice their lives to serve our country, shouldn't it be the least we can do to pay for their hormone treatments? If not, there should at least be a compromise, such as that transgender individuals have to receive the surgery before entering the military. To propose a policy that they are not allowed to serve in the military, period, is simply unfair.

The main problem with this new proposed policy is that there is not really a set plan, as of right now. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee could not even answer what would happen to current military members who are transgender. These people could rightfully sue the government, if this was to happen, which would create an even bigger problem.

Being that I myself am not a member of the military, I cannot speak for those who are. Military members might have different opinions regarding this issue, which should also be taken into consideration. However, this policy seems similar to "Don't Ask Don't Tell," which made it okay for the military to kick out soldiers for being gay or lesbian. We should not be going back in time and repeating past mistakes regarding human rights issues.

Since Trump typically appeals to those who are in the military, this decision seems to have been made by him to gain more support by those individuals. As it is usually difficult to appeal to all classes, races, and genders in politics (even though we should all be united as Americans), Trump has to also remember that this announcement is negatively impacting the LGBTQ community. Since Trump also says how he is a friend of the LGBTQ community, which I believe to a certain extent, he should rethink this decision and not be influenced by the Vice President and Cabinet members who are not as accepting towards the LGBTQ community.