FACT CHECK: Are 15,000 Trans People Serving in the US Military?
President Donald Trump sent out a series of tweets on Wednesday stating that the U.S. “will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” Immediately after these tweets politicians, organizations and political commentators began tweeting out certain numbers of how many transgender people are serving or have served in the military . . .
The number of trans people serving in the military is unclear. There have been two major studies on the number, with each study purporting different figures . . .
California Rep. Mark Takano tweeted out that Trump was attacking “15,ooo trans service members.” Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights organization, also tweeted the 15,000 figure. The Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted that “150K transgender Americans have bravely served USA.” . . .
The Williams Institute study from 2014 estimated “that approximately 15,500 transgender individuals are serving on active duty or in the Guard or Reserve forces.” The study suggests that “8,800 transgender individuals are currently on active duty.”
A study in 2016 from the RAND Corporation, sponsored by the secretary of defense, estimates that “the number of transgender individuals currently serving in the active component of the U.S. military at between 1,320 and 6,630 out of a total of about 1.3 million service members.” This number accounts for 0.1-0.5 percent of those serving in active military according to the RAND Corporation. (Read more from “FACT CHECK: Are 15,000 Trans People Serving in the US Military?” HERE)
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