US military must accept transgender recruits by Jan. 1

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As of January 1, 2018, transgender recruits will be able to join the US military after a federal judge denied a request by President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce his ban on transgender troops on Monday. The government is appealing for an order to block it.

In a ruling, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington refused to lift part of her October 30 order stopping the ban from taking effect until the case is resolved, saying it likely violated the US Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.

The White House said the Justice Department was reviewing its options.

The Pentagon said in a statement that it would follow court orders and begin processing transgender applicants on January 1.

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

It added, however, that it and the US Department of Justice “are actively pursuing relief from those court orders in order to allow an ongoing policy review scheduled to be completed before the end of March.”

The administration had argued that the January 1 deadline was problematic because tens of thousands of personnel would have to be trained on the medical standards needed to process transgender applicants, and the military was not ready for that.

Kollar-Kotelly rejected the concerns, saying preparations for accepting transgender troops were under way during the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.

"The directive from the Secretary of Defense requiring the military to prepare to begin allowing accession of transgender individuals was issued on June 30, 2016 – nearly one and a half years ago,” the judge said.

Several transgender service members filed a lawsuit after Trump said in July he would ban transgender people from the military, citing concern over military focus and medical costs.

In an August memorandum, Trump gave the military until March 2018 to revert to a policy prohibiting openly transgender individuals from joining the military and authorizing their discharge. The memo also halted the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgery for active-duty personnel.

Defense Secretary James Mattis had previously delayed a deadline that had been set during the Obama administration to begin enlisting transgender recruits to January 1, which Trump’s ban then put off indefinitely.

Source(s): Reuters