The Ignoramus-in-Chief issued guidelines for implementing the ban on transgenders in the military Friday, and multiple civil rights lawsuits aiming to overturn the policy have already been filed.
Because of the military’s unique job and place in American society, I incline toward indifference to the ordinary civil rights arguments. My view will probably annoy some people, but has the virtue of being simple: If it helps military effectiveness, or has no effect, then transgenders should be allowed to serve. If it injures military effectiveness, transgenders should not be allowed to serve.
Since I myself never served, I’m in no position to make a first-hand judgment about the likely consequence. The Joint Chiefs are surely competent to make that judgment, however, and they seem to think — along with more than twenty other countries’ military chiefs — that it isn’t a problem. That’s good enough for me.
That makes intuitive sense, too. I’m too old for bar fights but, just in case, I know for a fact I’d rather it happen on a night when I’m out drinking with Caitlyn Jenner than Barney Fife.