Following Trump’s latest tweet storm, in which he banned trans people from serving in the military in any capacity, the Irish Defence Forces have revealed their own position with regard to accepting applications from trans people.

The Irish Defence Forces “welcome applications from all members of Irish society, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender,” reports Independent.ie.

“The Government believes that the Defence Forces should reflect the richness and diversity of the community it serves. To that end, the Defence Forces are committed to the principle of equal opportunity in all of its employment policies, procedures, instructions and regulations.”

This message of support for the LGBT+ community reinforces the launch of the Irish Defence Forces’ LGBT+ network last October, ‘Defend with Pride’.

GCN columnist and trans activist Toryn Glavin lauded the Defence Forces statement while condemning Trump’s transphobic tweets.

“President Trump’s tweets highlight the very real transphobia still present in many parts of the world,” Glavin said.

Trumped Up Tweets

The statement of acceptance comes days after US President Donald Trump announced via Twitter, his social media network of choice, that trans people would no longer be a part of the military.

Last Wednesday, Trump broke the news in a series of three tweets, basing the decision decision on the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” that having trans people in the military could result in.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military,” the US President tweeted.

“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017

Inclusive Ireland

At a press conference on Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar diplomatically refrained from commenting on Trump’s policy update, but did reveal that such an exclusionary policy is not on the cards for Ireland while he is in power.

Ireland is an incredibly welcoming place for trans people to live

“It is a domestic policy issue for the United States,” Varadkar said. “They run their defence forces, we run ours.”

“It is not something I would ever consider introducing in Ireland.”

With a gay Taoiseach at the helm of our country and considering the progress made with LGBT+ rights in the last three decades, Glavin feels Ireland is becoming a “world leader for trans rights.”

“While transphobia exists in Ireland, Glavin said, “this announcement shows that much has changed here for the trans community in recent years.

“Ireland is an incredibly welcoming place for trans people to live and this welcoming statement from the Defence Forces further makes Ireland a true home for our community. We are truly becoming a world leader for trans rights.”

Do you agree with Toryn? Is Ireland a world leader for trans rights? Can the government do more to protect trans people in Ireland? Let us know in the comments below.