WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, wants to make President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military permanent.
Moore introduced the Readiness Over Wokeness Act this week, which aims to prohibit individuals with gender dysphoria from serving in the armed forces. The legislation would codify Trump’s executive order from January that reversed a policy that allowed transgender individuals to serve openly in the military.
As a veteran, Moore said the focus in the military should be on readiness and that transgender individuals could have “medical, surgical, and mental health concerns” that limit their ability to meet military standards.
“In that stressful situation, the last thing we need is a female on testosterone or a male on estrogen with a weapon,” Moore told Alabama Daily News. “And so we want to make sure that what we do is really about fighting, and it’s not woke, but it’s ready.”
About 1,00 service members who identify as transgender will begin the voluntary separation process, according to a statement from the Department of Defense on May 8.
The bill will prohibit people with a current diagnosis or history of symptoms of gender dysphoria and individuals who have received or are receiving gender affirming care from being a service member.
Moore said he’s been in communication with the White House about the legislation. Five other House Republicans are cosponsors of the bill.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the ban could be enforced while other legal challenges continue. About 4,200 troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria are currently serving, the Associated Press reported.
The Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which challenged the ban in court, said the Supreme Court ruling was a “devastating blow.”
“By allowing this discriminatory ban to take effect while our challenge continues, the Court has temporarily sanctioned a policy that has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice,” Lambda Legal said in a statement. “Transgender individuals meet the same standards and demonstrate the same values as all who serve.”
When asked if the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military could be discriminatory, Moore said the armed forces shouldn’t be a “social program.”
“This makes our country, our services more able to fight, more ready and less woke, and so it’s just simply about doing what makes common sense,” Moore told ADN.