DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus In defeat for Trump, judge blocks transgender military ban

In defeat for Trump, judge blocks transgender military ban

Andrew Chung
OCTOBER 30, 2017

(Reuters) - A federal judge in Washington on Monday blocked President Donald Trump from banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, handing a victory to transgender service members who accused the president of violating their constitutional rights.

Trump announced in July that he would ban transgender people from the military in a move that would reverse Democratic former President Barack Obama’s policy of accepting them and halt years of efforts to eliminate barriers to military service based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The transgender service members sued in August to try to block the ban, which had not yet gone into effect, and U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted them an injunction halting enforcement of it until their case is resolved.

The service members asserted that Trump’s policy violated their rights to due process and equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution. Kollar-Kotelly said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claim that the ban was unconstitutional because the administration’s reasons for it “do not appear to be supported by any facts.”

After his policy announcement on Twitter, Trump signed a memorandum in August that directed the military not to accept transgender people as recruits and halted the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgeries for active-duty personnel unless the process was already underway.

The memo called on Defense Secretary James Mattis to submit a plan to Trump by Feb. 21 on how to implement the changes, and the Pentagon has created a panel of senior officials for that purpose. In the meantime, the current policy of allowing transgender people to serve remains in force.

Mattis in June already had delayed allowing transgender recruits to join the U.S. armed forces on July 1 as previously scheduled.

The judge tossed out the suit’s challenge to the sex-reassignment surgery directive, saying none of the plaintiffs had shown they would be impacted by that prohibition.

‘HUGELY IMPORTANT’

“This is a hugely important decision and confirms that transgender people can and should be able to serve in the military if they are qualified to do so,” said the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, Jennifer Levi.

“The court saw through the smoke screens that the government tried to throw up to hide what is actually going on here, which is straight-on bias and prejudice against transgender people,” added Levi, director of the transgender rights project for the anti-discrimination group GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.

The Justice Department said it was disappointed in the ruling and evaluating its next steps. Spokeswoman Lauren Ehrsam said the suit was premature because the “Defense Department is actively reviewing such service requirements, as the president ordered, and because none of the plaintiffs have established that they will be impacted by current policies on military service.”

Trump’s action appealed to his hard-line conservative supporters. The president in February also rescinded protections put in place under Obama for transgender public school students.

The judge’s action marked the latest legal setback suffered by Trump on policies he has pursued as president. Courts also have blocked Trump’s latest version of a travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries, and dealt him setbacks on policies on so-called sanctuary cities and environmental rules.

The service members who sued Trump, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and military leaders in August had been serving openly as transgender people in the U.S. Army, Air Force and Coast Guard. They said Trump’s ban discriminated against them based on their sex and transgender status.

They also said they relied on the 2016 policy put in place by Obama to reveal they are transgender and called Trump’s reversal unfair, arbitrary and a violation of their privacy rights.

The Trump administration argued that transgender people might harm military unit cohesion and that they suffer medical conditions that could limit their ability to perform duties or deploy.

The judge said the military previously commissioned a study that debunked concerns about unit cohesion, military readiness, or healthcare costs related to transgender troops. That report estimated there were 2,450 active-duty service members and 1,510 in the military reserves.

“In short, the military concerns purportedly underlying the president’s decision had been studied and rejected by the military itself,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote.

Other suits also have been filed against Trump’s ban.

Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in New York and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-m...n-idUSKBN1CZ25E

Transgenders want to serve, fine. But the tax payer should not be on the hook for their sex change.

Glad they blocked this. It was stupid from the jump.

Slippery slope when we start saying what medical procedures our military are entitled to receive, just saying.

Tax payers are on the hook and paying top dollar for this to lie to us everyday.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Huckabee_Sanders

I thought liberals were against people with mental disorders from being armed....

They don't pay for face lifts that I am aware of.

And its more than just that. The hormones trans people need to take daily are extremely expensive, and can be dangerous if not taken under constant medical guidance and testing.

If deployed in battle, how do they obtain them? Its not like they can have meds dropped daily via supply drops for a 1 or 2 soldiers.

Also, the current suicidal rate in America is about 13%. In the trans community, the suicide rate is debatable, however I have seen it range from a very high 30% upwards to 50%. If you are in battle with another soldier, its not in your best interest to take a 1/3 or 1/2 chance the person next to you wants to die.

These are all factors that should be included in the decision making of this policy. The military is not a social experiment. All those that serve need to be battle ready and cleared mentally fit to do so.

Yep. Aren't conservatives against people with mental disorders from being armed? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask.

And are you trying to say being born a transgender is a mental disorder? If so, you need help.

John Hopkins Pshchiatrist

Well, yes, I am. You see, liberals talk about science all the time when it comes to climate change, but do not want to talk about the science in that there are only 2 genders, and the one you are born with will always be the true.

I hear this “the military is not a social experiment” all the time and it’s BS.

People like you said the same thing when African Americans and other minorities were allowed to join.

You said the same thing when women were allowed to join.

Stop fear mongering cause most people don’t believe your nonsense.

The military is the biggest social experiment on the face of the planet. You are literally putting people from all over the country from different religions, genders, race and sexual orientation into one unit.

And we’ve been the most badass military on the face of this planet for a long ass time.

You’re wrong, and you will continue to be wrong.

Yeah a mental disorder to some conservatives.

It should be noted through all this liberal peacocking that the judge left in place the ban on the government paying for any medical procedures to transition from one gender to the other, WHICH WAS KINDA THE POINT ANYWAY!

Nope. We will continue to let cons arm themselves.

Then why didnt they just ban the medical procedures?

right.

Trump went full on ban. dunno why Ted is trying to cover for Trump.

That wasn't the point at all.

The point was for Trump to throw some needless red meat identity grievance politics at the dolts who support him, which he constantly does whenever he trips over himself trying to pretend like he's carrying out the duties of being president.

If I remember correctly, the cost of the procedure and military readiness was the point of the ban.

The procedures aren't banned because if a person can afford them themselves I suppose they can go ahead and get them.

So I'm a dolt? You're back to being the pompous punk you always were.

I ain't in the mood for it.

Trump wanted an all out ban on Transgenders because of political/religious pressure from your side. some conservatives have been advocating for that before the surgery talk popped up.

if it was about the procedures then he should've made that clear. he did not. please Ted stop defending this blatant discrimination.

People were talking about the procedure aspect from the get go. On top of that, this guy (and I'm not gonna try to find the list) is damn near as pro LBGTQ as the last guy was.

If you support him, it's for one of 3 reasons:

1) As a useful idiot to be used as a tool for greater objectives
2) As a way to anger opposition
3) You're being duped by a mediocre conman.

No one in their right man can look at this intellectually incurious dullard sexual predator, who thinks health insurance costs $12 a year and spends most of his time eating carving table meats in a clubhouse while he talks about wanting to have sex with his daughter, and think "wow, this guy is a leader and doing a really great job.

The notion that the man even *thinks* about this stuff is laughable.

More likely than not, he was whiny and cranky because Haberman or Thrush we're "unfair" to him, saw something about military/transgender on Fox & Friends, and lashed out with a tweet.

The idea that this man gives consideration to things or devises policy plans is absurd.

but again, if the procedures are the problem then make it about that.

dont ban an entire group of people.

that's like banning people who wear glasses from serving in the military because they might ask for lasik.

just do away with the procedure.

No, for one reason. He isn't Hillary, who we all now know sold 20% of our uranium to Russia. If she hadn't done that, I'd have written Ted in.

If I had my way, Ted Cruz would've been the nominee. Cause we all know that guys named Ted are incredibly smart and reasonably good looking.

Cruz is definitely an exception to your name bro. he manages to look like he had botox injections without even getting it.

That would fall under #1, Ted.

Yeah, he could've been a little less buttoned up and relatable during the primaries, that's for sure.

I'm sure you're a looker, Ted, but Senator Cruz looks like a blobfish.

How the hell did you find the ONE picture of him that ACTUALLY looks like that fish?

Almost...

And, honestly, that's why I voted Hillary. I can't stand the woman, I think she's a war criminal, and I felt dirty doing it. I normally do write-ins for president.

But it was the only way to try and stop the sociopath dullard we have in there now.

I stood and stared at the machine for a few seconds and thought about it, but hey, selling nuclear bomb making material to a broke country with an egomaniac of it's own running it kinda tipped the scale.

Ted, I'm not lying to you - you can't make nuclear weapons with the materials in question. It was strictly for commercial nuclear purposes, you couldn't possibly make bombs with this specific material. There are differences - the Perry Nuclear Plant wouldn't be capable of whipping up a bomb if they were inclined. It takes different material.

It is, however, a corrupt dealing because the whole thing was engineered to line the pockets of Clinton Foundation donors.

the US fleeced russia in that deal.

How do you buy 20% of something that can't even leave the US?

here, Ted:

http://www.factcheck.org/2017/10/facts-uranium-one/

You all are trying really hard to justify and self soothe about Hillary's treason.

trying hard? that post took 10 secs to write.

Self soothe. Like they leave crying babies in a crib for.

or conservatives in safe space churches.

Or liberals with hurt feelings about statues.

or conservatives having to bake cakes.