Under the Trump Presidency, multiple anti-trans bills have been introduced and passed.
These bills could significantly impact the lives of transgender people.
For starters, transgender service members have been banned from serving in the military.
According to a memorandum posted on the U.S. Department of Defenses website, transgender individuals will not be recognized.
The memorandum specifically states, “The Department only recognizes two sexes: male and female. An individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life. All Service members will only serve in accordance with their sex.”
In his inaugural address on January 20, President Donald Trump said, “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
Gender is simply a social construct. How one should look, how one should act and more.
According to The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), agency staff, including those at the Centers for Disease Control, have been instructed to stop using “forbidden terms” in official reports.
These include, but are not limited to, “gender, transgender, pregnant person or pregnant people, LGBTQ, transsexual, nonbinary, assigned male or female at birth and biologically male or biologically female,”according to the CIDRAP website.
Policies targeting a specific group of people violate constitutional morals of fairness, equality and freedom.
According to an article by The Hill reporter Tara Suter published February 6, 2025, legal challenges have been filed against the military ban, with opponents asserting that it discriminates against transgender individuals and undermines their ability to serve their country.
Federal courts, such as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, have already intervened in some cases, blocking aspects of the policy and requiring the Pentagon to resume medical care for transgender troops.
The ongoing legal battles highlight the contentious nature of these policies and their potential long-term implications for civil rights and military readiness.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, there are 575 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States.
In Pennsylvania alone, there are six.
One of these is the Protect Women’s Sports Act (HB 216, 2023-2024).
This stops trans women from being on the playing field with biological women.
The memorandum reads, “We are re-introducing the Save Women’s Sports Act to protect opportunities for women and girls in athletics by ensuring women are not forced to compete against biological males playing on women’s sports teams.”
A prime example of someone in this situation is former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas.
In 2022, Thomas was the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I National Championship.
Thomas won the women’s 500-yard freestyle event in 2022, before being barred from competing in women’s events by World Aquatics.
Once again, the same story is being told. In April, 47-year-old transgender athlete Ana Caldas dominated every event she entered at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, winning gold in the women’s 45-49 age category across five races, including the 50 and 100-yard breaststroke and freestyle.
Caldas is currently facing similar backlash.