US military to accept transgender recruits on Monday

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Transgender people will be allowed for the first time to enlist in the US military starting on Monday as ordered by federal courts, the Pentagon said on Friday, after President Donald Trump’s administration decided not to appeal rulings that blocked his transgender ban.

Two federal appeals courts, one in Washington and one in Virginia, last week rejected the administration’s request to put on hold orders by lower court judges requiring the military to begin accepting transgender recruits on Jan 1.

A Justice Department official said the administration will not challenge those rulings.

“The Department of Defense has announced that it will be releasing an independent study of these issues in the coming weeks. So rather than litigate this interim appeal before that occurs, the administration has decided to wait for DOD’s study and will continue to defend the president’s lawful authority in district court in the meantime,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Lawyers representing currently serving transgender service members and aspiring recruits said they had expected the administration to appeal those rulings to the conservative-majority Supreme Court but were hoping that would not happen.

Major Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said that as of now the Department of Defense plans to start accepting transgender recruits on Monday.

A rainbow flag flies as people protest US President Donald Trump's announcement that he plans to reinstate a ban on transgender individuals from serving in any capacity in the US military, in Times Square, in New York City, New York, US, July 26, 2017. /Reuters Photo

In a move that appealed to his hard-line conservative supporters, Trump announced in July that he would prohibit transgender people from serving in the military, reversing Democratic former President Barack Obama’s policy of accepting them. Trump said on Twitter at the time that the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

Four federal judges – in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Seattle and Riverside, California – have issued rulings blocking Trump’s ban while legal challenges to the Republican president’s policy proceed. The judges said the ban would likely violate the right under the US Constitution to equal protection under the law.

Openly transgender individuals would be able to join the armed forces for the first time, subject to certain medical standards set forth by the Pentagon.

“There has been a tremendous amount of care, thought and planning that has gone into the policy that is set to go into effect on Jan. 1 allowing transgender people to enlist,” said Jennifer Levi, a lawyer with gay, lesbian and transgender advocacy group GLAD. Both GLAD and the ACLU represent plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed against the administration.

The administration had argued that the military was not prepared to train the personnel needed to properly assess transgender applicants.

The Obama administration had set a deadline of July 1 of this year to begin accepting transgender recruits. But Trump’s defense secretary, James Mattis, postponed that date to Jan. 1, which the president’s ban then put off indefinitely.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks to US military personnel at Naval Air Station Sigonella following the G7 Summit, in Sigonella, Sicily, Italy, May 27, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Trump also has taken other steps aimed at rolling back transgender rights. In October, his administration said that a federal law banning gender-based workplace discrimination does not protect transgender employees, reversing an Obama-era position. In February, Trump rescinded guidance issued by the Obama administration saying that public schools should allow transgender students to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity.

(Cover Photo: Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump salutes as he presides over a military parade following Trump's swearing-in ceremony in Washington, DC, US, January 20, 2017. /Reuters Photo)

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Source(s): Reuters