Why Is The Attempted Assassination Of Trump Women's Fault?

The attempted assassination of former Pres. Trump showed an appalling failure of the Secret Service, but there is no evidence that hiring female agents was a factor.

Photo by Bexar Arms on Unsplash

Equal opportunity laws prohibit discrimination against qualified job applicants based on race, sex, age, gender, religion, color and national origin.

These laws ensure that job applicants are not subject to irrational, harmful discrimination in hiring. The laws were passed in the 1960s when women and blacks were subject to gross, systemic hiring discrimination. For example, there were no females in the Secret Service until 1971.

Think about that.

Women serve a critical role in law enforcement. Female Secret Service agents may find it easier to blend into certain situations and to infiltrate conspiracies and plots. They can go where male agents cannot, such as female changing rooms, restrooms and female-only areas (ex., behind partitions in mosques where women are segregated).

A modern law enforcement agency would be crippled without female officers and agents.

Too Small?

Nevertheless, some of the questions at a House Oversight Committee Hearing on the attempted assassination on Monday focused on diversity hiring, which also is a topic of debate on social media.

A few Congress members complained that videos of female Secret Service agents at the July 13 Trump rally in Pennsylvania indicate they were physically incapable of performing critical physical duties, such as shielding Trump, who is 6’4” and overweight, or carrying him out of danger.

There was no recognition that some women are just as capable as men in performing onerous physical tasks, and that some men are less capable than women depending upon genetic racial traits, age and fitness. More importantly, the Secret Service legally can tailor its job requirements to the essential functions of the job.