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Judge blocks Trump’s attempted ban on transgender troops
President Trump’s attempts to ban transgender people from serving in the armed forces has been blocked by a judge.
In a ruling in a federal court, District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that Mr Trump’s claims that transgender officers would “cause disruption” in the military had no basis in studies carried out by the military itself. Judge Kollar-Kotelly placed a temporary ban on Mr Trump’s order, which had sought to reverse a decision by Barack Obama that would have allowed openly transgender troops to serve from July this year.
In a surprise move in June, Mr Trump announced an end to the policy on Twitter. “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,” he said. The president also barred federal funds from being used to cover the costs of medical treatment associated with gender reassignment surgery of serving troops......
Moving to obstruct the president yesterday Judge Kollar-Kotelly, pointed out that the Department of Defense Working Group, made up of senior uniformed officers and senior civilian officers from each military department, had unanimously concluded that there were no barriers that should prevent transgender individuals from serving in the military. “In short, the military concerns purportedly underlying the president’s decision had been studied and rejected by the military itself,” she said.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a separate lawsuit arguing that Mr Trump’s ban amounts to discriminatory treatment. An attorney for the union predicted further legal challenges. “This is the first decision striking down President Trump’s ban, but it won’t be the last,” Joshua Block said in a statement. “The federal courts are recognizing what everyone already knows to be true: President Trump’s impulsive decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military service was blatantly unconstitutional. We will continue to work to ensure that transgender service members are treated with the equal treatment they deserve.”.....