Transgender Military Service

Feb 1

Written By Jonathan Milner

Critical Analysis

According to the chart above, what percent of Independent voters favor allowing transgender people to serve in the U.S. military?
Of the groups identified in the chart above, which is the only one that has increased in the percent of people who favor allowing transgender people to serve in the U.S. military?
Overall, what does the chart tell you about American attitudes towards transgender military service?
Why do you think that is?
On some very visible or salient issues public opinion has a great influence over public policy, on other issues, public opinion does not matter as much. Explain how much public opinion on this issue will impact U.S. policy.
The Trump administration banned the U.S. military from allowing transgender people to serve. On January 25, 2021 President Biden signed Executive Order 14004: Enabling All Qualified Americans To Serve Their Country in Uniform, overturning Trump’s ban on transgender military service. Imagine you were the next president of the United States. Would you sign a new executive order overturning Biden’s order or do you believe transgender persons should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military?
How do you think demographics like party affiliation and religion impact views on transgender military service? (see fig. 1 below)*
What percent of Americans are aware that there are currently no federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBT Americans? (see fig. 11 & 12 below)*
How does federalism enter into the debate about rights and protections for LGBT people?
In June 2020, the Supreme Court’s four liberal justices were joined by two of their conservative colleagues in issuing a decision on Bostock v. Clayton County, a landmark ruling that holds that LGBTQ employees are entitled to legal protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What does the U.S. Constitution say about equal protection and does that apply to LGBT people?