Just days before the 31st Budapest Pride, Hungary’s Defence Minister, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, came under fire after suggesting that people who are “not at peace with themselves” (transgender military applicants) should not be entrusted with weapons, prompting a sharp response from Amnesty International Hungary.
Hungarian defence minister on transgender applicants
Speaking in an interview with Kontroll, a media outlet close to the ruling Tisza Party, Ruszin-Szendi discussed gender roles, military suitability and recruitment within the Hungarian Armed Forces. During the conversation, he referred to a previous case involving a transgender person who had applied to join the military.
The minister stressed that the armed forces do not discriminate between men and women, provided they are capable of carrying out their assigned duties. He added that, in some cases, female soldiers are required, as in certain Middle Eastern cultures, only women may conduct body searches on other women.
According to Ruszin-Szendi, every applicant undergoes thorough medical and psychological assessments before being accepted into military service. He argued that questions of gender identity do not present a systemic challenge for the armed forces, as fitness for service is determined on professional grounds.
Ruszin-Szendi’s remarks prompt Amnesty International criticism
However, when recalling the case of the transgender applicant, the minister made a remark that has since drawn widespread criticism. “If someone is not at peace with themselves, then I think it is quite difficult to put a weapon in their hands,” he said.
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Amnesty International Hungary rejected the implication behind the statement, arguing that transgender people are not “confused” about themselves and that it is both false and exclusionary to suggest they are less capable of serving their country because of their gender identity.
The human rights organisation said such comments reinforce harmful stereotypes about transgender people and unfairly call into question their ability to perform public service.
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He is 100% correct.
A man being convinced he is a woman is scientifically, logically, and even philosophically no different to a 40-year-old being convinced he is four years old, or a Filipino man being convinced he is a black African, or an able-bodied man being convinced he is paraplegic, etc. Or indeed a 40-year-old, able-bodied Filipino man being convinced there are three different people living inside of him: a four-year old kid, a black African lesbian, and a paraplegic Argentinian nuclear physicist.
No difference whatsoever.
Such individuals, and I don’t mean this pejoratively, are not right in the head. They need help, not a gun.
God bless this wise man.