A federal court in Washington is barring President Donald Trump from changing the government’s policy on military service by transgender people.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that transgender service members who had sued over Trump’s policy were likely to win their lawsuit. She directed a return to the situation that existed before Trump announced his new policy this summer.
Trump announced in an August memo that he intended to reverse course on a 2016 policy that allowed troops to serve openly as transgender individuals.
He said he would order a return to the policy prior to June 2016, under which service members could be discharged for being transgender.
A federal judge in Washington, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, blocked the Trump administration Monday from enforcing parts of its transgender military ban.
Trump gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis (pictured on August 24) authority to decide the matter of openly transgender individuals already serving
People with the Human Rights Campaign hold up ‘equality flags’ during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, in support of transgender members of the military
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote Monday that transgender members of the military who had sued over the change were likely to win their lawsuit and barred the Trump administration from reversing course.
The Trump administration may appeal Kollar-Kotelly’s decision, but for now, the proposed ban remains unenforceable.
Transgender people have been allowed to serve openly in the military since June 2016. Trump, in a series of tweets on July 26, however, announced that he planned to end that policy.
Trump wrote in a series of tweets in late July: ‘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 U.S. Military.’
He continued: ‘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. Thank you.’
Advocates claim there are as many as 15,000 troops that would be affected by the ban.
The surprise announcement appealed to some in Trump’s conservative political base but created uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out after the Pentagon said in 2016 it would allow transgender people to serve openly.
Trump announced on Twitter in July that the ‘the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.’
One of Trump’s explanations for the ban was the ‘cost burden’. But financial reports showed that out of $6.7billion spent on healthcare, transgender-related healthcare equated to just $8.4million. Meanwhile, $84.24million is spent on erectile dysfunction
The lawsuit, filed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said such a ban is unconstitutional, denying transgender service members equal protection and due process.
‘The damage is happening now,’ said Jennifer Levi, director of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project. ‘These service members were told in June 2016 they could come out and continue to openly serve.’
The five plaintiffs serve in the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Army. Their years of service range from three years to two decades, and include tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
All have come out as transgender to their commanding officers but are anonymous in the lawsuit, named only as Jane Doe, for fear of retribution, said Levi.
‘We are enormously relieved for our plaintiffs and other transgender service members,’ said Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, an attorney handling the lawsuit.
‘Their lives have been devastated since Trump first tweeted he was reinstating the ban,’ Minter said. ‘They are now able to serve on equal terms with everyone else.’
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, asked about the ruling at the White House briefing, said it was something that had just been announced and said the Justice Department was reviewing it.
Trump announced on Twitter in July that the ‘the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.’
He followed with an August memo directing the Pentagon to extend indefinitely a ban on transgender individuals joining the military, and gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis six months to come up with a policy on ‘how to address’ those who are currently serving.
Under the Obama administration, the Department of Defense had announced in 2016 that service members could not be discharged solely based on their gender identity. Transgender individuals were to be allowed to enlist in the military effective Jan. 1, 2018.
Minter said the new court ruling means they will be able to do that.
The Trump administration had asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit; Kollar-Kotelly refused to do so
Other lawsuits challenging president’s directive have been filed in Seattle and Baltimore.