Transgender service members sue Trump after he bans trans people from military

Six transgender people who served in the US military have sued President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people serving in the defence forces. While Trump has said their sexuality “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle”, the transgender people say it is not backed by facts.
Published By: Priyanjali Narayan
Six transgender members of the US military have sued US President Donald Trump over his executive order banning trans people from serving in the army. This lawsuit was filed in Washington DC federal court on January 28 by six people serving currently and two transgender people seeking to serve. This is after Trump signed an executive order that stated that transgender sexuality “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle”, and impacts military readiness. A report by The Times had predicted this even before Trump won the US elections in 2024.
The executive order, along with demands to dissolve diversity, equity, and inclusion “bureaucracy” in the Defence Department, came on Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s first day of work at the Pentagon. The plaintiffs have called the order unconstitutional, and they are seeking an emergency ruling by the court to block the order as they want to continue serving in the military.
CATEGORICAL BAN WITHOUT STUDYING THE FACTS?
They have also said Trump has imposed this “categorical ban” without studying the actual facts of the service of trans people and without exploring less drastic options.
“Rather than being based on any legitimate governmental purpose, the ban reflects animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status,” the suit said.
The transgender people in the US have been part of the US military except in Trump’s first term. They are enlisted in large numbers. A 2016 study by RAND stated around 2,500 active military members were transgender along with 1,500 reservists in the US.
Those people who have sued Trump, are members of the US army, navy, air force and army reserves and have won various medals. These people are Nicolas Talbott, Army Major Erica Vandal, Army Sergeant First Class Kate Cole, Army Captian Gordon Herrero, Navy Ensign Dany Danridge, Air Force Master Sergeant Jamie Hash, Koda Nature and Cael Neary.
SOME HAVE SERVED THEIR ‘ENTIRE LIFE’, THEY SAY
Cole has served in the army for the last 17 years, and she has been a part of it for her “entire life”, including the time she served in Afghanistan. “Removing qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced personnel,” Cole said.
The new order will unfairly halt their military ambitions and careers.
Another military person, Herrero, also spoke against it. “There’s nothing about being transgender that makes me better or worse than any other soldier I serve alongside.” “We are all here because we are committed to our country, and we are passionate, willing, and able to serve effectively,” Herrero added.
Lawyers from the National Centre for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) filed the suit on the plaintiff’s behalf.
They had also fought the ban in Trump’s first term.
“The law is very clear that the government can’t base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people,” Shannon Minter, of the NCLR, said. “That’s animus. And animus-based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional.”
It “will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with the utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives”, said the Pentagon.
Sasha Buchert, a senior lawyer at Lambda Legal in the US, who spoke to ABC News, said that her firm and the Human Rights Campaign also plan to file suit.
“We have been here before…as we promised then, so do we now: we will sue,” Buchert said. The troops will now “worry about…whether they’re going to have to end their illustrious military careers by being drummed out of the military”, she said.
“Trans military folks have been serving now for 10 years, openly and proudly and deploying to austere environments and meeting every service-based standard that their peers can meet,” said Buchert.
Courtesy : India Today
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