On Tuesday, January 22nd, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could reinstate the policy that forbids transgender people from serving in the military.

The law allowing transgender people to serve was signed into power in 2012, during the Obama administration. Supporters of the recent Supreme Court decision view transgender soldiers as an unnecessary burden on the U.S. military.

They believe that transgender people will cost the country millions of dollars in medical bills and that they will be a distraction to their fellow soldiers. Studies show that their wildest concerns are not coming true.

The law is outrageous for obvious reasons. First and foremost, it is a law that has the sole purpose of discriminating against transgender individuals. We know this is true because discharging a completely trained soldier for no reason other than their gender identity is causing the military to lose money.

The cost of training a soldier is high. According to Jason Anderson, a Marine Corps Sergeant, his uniform, equipment, meals, and standard pay costs about $4,726.39. Daniel Goure, who works at the Lexington Institute, explains that there are a lot most costs that go into training as well.

If you combine the cost of advertising, uniform, and food, classroom learning, pay, moving expenses, drill sergeants, and other staff, you end up with about $44,887 (per new marine) (NBC). Whether a soldier joins the marines, army, coast guard, navy, or airforce, the cost of training them is going to be high.

As of 2014, Over 8,800 transgender individuals are currently on active duty in the U.S. military (The Williams Institute). Let's say the average cost of training a new soldier is $40,000; if you multiply that by the (approximately) 8,800 soldiers that will be removed from service due to this ban, you end up with about $352,000,000.

Many argue that there is an issue with transgender individuals using their insurance from the military to cover gender reassignment surgery is an expensive burden for the U.S. to have.

However, not every transgender soldier wishes to get this surgery during their lifetime. The Rand study (a report on the current state of the Armed Forces) found that surgeries and other medical necessities for transgender soldiers would cost the military between "2.4 million and 8.4 million annually" (The Washington Post).

Trump did not propose this ban to save this country money; this ban works to create a rift in this country. It was created out of hate toward a group that has worked toward making this country equal and open to everyone.