Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
Last week, a pair of GOP legislators, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, introduced bills in both chambers of Congress that would forbid people with gender dysphoria from serving in the military.
The Ensuring Military Readiness Act, which is likely doomed in a Democrat-run Senate and would almost certainly be vetoed by the president if it somehow cleared Congress, would enshrine into law what was an executive policy of President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden revoked Trump’s ban upon entering the White House.
Central to the entire issue is a disagreement between the left and right over the nature of gender dysphoria.
The left largely views gender dysphoria as a normal exhibition of one’s self, something that should not preclude a person from participating in various societal activities.
Republicans, though, argue gender dysphoria is a serious mental health issue and should be treated as such.
“Americans who were treated for ADHD in the past two years must receive a waiver to enlist,” Banks said in a statement. “Our military holds recruits to stringent medical standards for a reason, and the Biden administration’s special carveout for those suffering from gender dysphoria was purely political. Our bill ensures that DoD puts lethality and readiness before far-left ideology.”
Thanks to the Biden admin, it’s easier to enlist in the military if you’re suffering from gender dysphoria than if you’ve been treated for ADHD.
My bill with @marcorubio ensures that DoD puts lethality and readiness before far-left ideology.https://t.co/pZLXIOgA8F
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) February 16, 2023
Like Banks, Rubio accused Biden of weakening the military.
“The military has strict standards for who can and cannot qualify to serve,” Rubio said in a statement. “For example, under President Biden, you can’t serve with a peanut allergy. Biden has turned our military into a woke social experiment. It is a stupid way to go about protecting our nation. We need to spend more time thinking about how to counter threats like China, Russia, and North Korea and less time thinking about pronouns.”
On Twitter, Rubio was even more direct.
“China is eroding our military edge,” Rubio tweeted. “Russia invaded Ukraine. N. Korea’s missiles can now reach the entire U.S. and Iran continues to progress toward nuclear weapons. This is no time to turn our military into a social experiment on gender reassignment.”
China is eroding our military edge
Russia invaded Ukraine
N. Korea’s missiles can now reach the entire U.S.
And Iran continues to progress towards nuclear weapons
This is no time to turn our military into a social experiment on gender reassignmenthttps://t.co/RfnO3umPQT
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 17, 2023
With his announcement of the military readiness bill, Rubio continued what has become a trend of his in recent weeks: introducing or reintroducing a litany of bills about all manner of issues.
As previously reported by FISM, Rubio has previously laid out numerous plans to address America’s relationship with China, and he and Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy have sought to remove chief diversity officers from the Department of Defense.
Friday, Rubio outpaced himself, reintroducing 13 bills that deal with everything from protecting religious exemptions to vaccine mandates to protecting the Supreme Court from packing schemes.