No, I don’t think that she will ever understand. She’s had some years to get herself informed and there has been no movement. That is demonstrated by her recent comments regarding trans athletes. She has allowed dogma to overtake the science in her mind. However, the good news is that she doesn’t have much credibility in general, so that’s a good thing. To me, what happened during that program is irrelevant. She never took the opportunity to educate herself and understand the larger picture. People should be asking themselves about her viability as a political candidate if she chooses not to invest the energy in actually understanding issues and solely work from her own opinions and prejudices. By and large, that is the Trump approach.
There are indications that not every Republican politician is working against the best interests of the LGBT community. There was a bill up for vote in the House this past week concerning loans for LGBT owned businesses. 38 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, but the vast majority did not. The bulk of the Republican party would be exceedingly happy if LGBT people simply did not exist. There is no doubt of that. I strongly suggest that you read Brynn Tannehill’s book. The chapters on legal strategy, political strategy and religion illustrate what they have been doing and will continue to do. The thing to note about her book is that it isn’t a trans person just shooting off her mouth as the bibliography covers 61 pages by itself. It is exceedingly well researched.
Regarding trans people in the military, as I understand, Tony Perkins, the leader of the hate group the Family Research Council was the big influencer. While certainly Pence would have been in agreement, Perkins played a role much like Stephen Miller has regarding the formation of immigration policy. Studies conducted here and abroad show essentially no change in morale or readiness with trans people in the ranks. Further, there are military forces in other countries that include trans people with no issues. With no evidence that trans people in the military are a problem, then we must ask ourselves why the previous administration would make this an issue. The only answer can be some sort of political gain. Therein lies the inherent dishonesty of the Republican Party in that it is OK to sacrifice a part of the population.
Further, regarding the Republicans, I don’t think it is “some factions”. There are too many places currently with, or trying to implement, laws that severely impact trans people. It is a national strategy and not something pushed by a few. It also seems that the lesbian and gay community has been slow to realize that they are next in line.
Anyway, the evidency strongly suggests that this will be a long term, uphill battle…
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