Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Loses, Federal Judge Blocks President’s Order
It’s another big defeat for the Trump administration as a D.C. federal judge ruled out their transgender ban in the military, citing that the order was violating the constitutional rights.
Last July, President Donald Trump had announced that the U.S. military will no longer accept transgenders, according to Reuters. The announcement caused outcry both from the military and the LGBTQ community.
Trump aimed to reverse former President Barack Obama’s stance on the transgender community in the military.
With that, the transgender service has taken the case to court last August, according to Chicago Tribune. The community has also spoken out in the defense of the transgender military servicemen and women.
“Any American who meets current medical readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving,” said Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican John McCain.
British military generals also opposed to Trump’s transgender ban like U.K. Maritime Forces Rear Admiral Alex Burton who said that the qualification for military service should not include sexual discrimination.
“We have a justifiably rigorous selection process but it doesn’t include discrimination and we’re a better fighting force for it.”
Though others argue that the transgender people are simply “wasting” the country’s dollar for surgeries and medical procedures, it was pointed out that transgender medical expenses do not really decapitate the entire military budget.
The service members who took this to court also noted that Trump’s policy “violated their rights to due process and equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution.”
Though Trump signed the memo, Defense Secretary James Mattis was yet to complete an implementations plan that should have been due on Feb. 21 if the policy was not cancelled.
Mattis even allowed transgender people to remain in service and for new recruits to join until July 1.
Attorney Jennifer Levi, the lead lawyer on the case, said that this will have an impact on the military and the community that it is trying to protect.
“This is a hugely important decision and confirms that transgender people can and should be able to serve in the military if they are qualified to do so.”
Atty. Levi also added that there were simply a lot of “smoke screens that the government tried to throw up to hide what is actually going on here.” For Atty. Levi, that is a “straight-on bias and prejudice against transgender people.”
Ultimately, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly favored Atty. Levi and the community, citing that there was already a previously commissioned study debunking concerns on “unit cohesion, military readiness or healthcare costs related to transgender troops.”
“In short, the military concerns purportedly underlying the president’s decision had been studied and rejected by the military itself.”
[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
