“The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender service members have sacrificed — some risking their lives — to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them,“ Reyes said.
“This ruling pulls no punches. The court methodically documented the concrete harms this ban inflicts on brave transgender service members who ask nothing more than to serve their country with honor,“ Levi said in a statement. Representatives of the White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump said in his order that “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”
“So why discharge them and other decorated soldiers? Crickets from defendants on this key question,“ Reyes said. Trump issued a similar executive order during his first term, during which already-serving transgender members were allowed to remain.
Lawyers for the government have argued in court the military is entitled to bar people with certain conditions that make them unsuitable for service, also including bipolar disorder and eating disorders. At a March 12 hearing, they told Reyes she should defer to the judgment of the current administration that transgender people are not fit for service.
The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, Department of Defense data shows. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands. (Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Matthew Lewis and Chris Reese)
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