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Related: About this forumTransgender military personnel sue Trump over service ban
Source: Reuters
#POLITICS AUGUST 9, 2017 / 12:59 PM / 30 MINUTES AGO
Transgender military personnel sue Trump over service ban
Daniel Trotta
3 MIN READ
(Reuters) - Five transgender members of the U.S. military including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans sued President Donald Trump on Wednesday, challenging his ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.
Trump said on Twitter on July 26 that the U.S. government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity" in the military, a reversal of Pentagon policy that the lawsuit said was made without consulting senior military commanders.
The surprise announcement, citing healthcare costs and unit disruption, appealed to some in Trump's conservative political base but created uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out after the Pentagon said in 2016 it would allow transgender people to serve openly.
Trump's tweets appeared to dismiss findings from a RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Pentagon that found allowing transgender people to serve would "cost little and have no significant impact on unit readiness."
-snip-
Transgender military personnel sue Trump over service ban
Daniel Trotta
3 MIN READ
(Reuters) - Five transgender members of the U.S. military including Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans sued President Donald Trump on Wednesday, challenging his ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.
Trump said on Twitter on July 26 that the U.S. government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity" in the military, a reversal of Pentagon policy that the lawsuit said was made without consulting senior military commanders.
The surprise announcement, citing healthcare costs and unit disruption, appealed to some in Trump's conservative political base but created uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out after the Pentagon said in 2016 it would allow transgender people to serve openly.
Trump's tweets appeared to dismiss findings from a RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Pentagon that found allowing transgender people to serve would "cost little and have no significant impact on unit readiness."
-snip-
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-transgender-idUSKBN1AP21U
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Transgender military personnel sue Trump over service ban (Original Post)
Eugene
Aug 2017
OP
Gothmog
(145,489 posts)1. Another lawsuit for trump to lose
Gothmog
(145,489 posts)2. Why the First Lawsuit Against Trumps Trans Troops Ban Is So Ingenious
This lawsuit is well drafted and will be fun to watch http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/08/09/nclr_and_glad_file_lawsuit_against_trump_s_transgender_troops_ban.html
On Wednesday, two LGBTQ rights groups filed the first lawsuit against President Donald Trumps proposed ban on transgender service members. An estimated 15,000 trans individuals are already in the U.S. military, and Trumps ban, announced via Twitter, would seem to require their immediate discharge. The complaint, filed on behalf of five trans women now serving openly, claims such a purge would violate their constitutional rights. The suit makes a very sound legal argument. Its also a clever mechanism to force the government to reveal how serious it is about enforcing Trumps tweeted diktat......
In their lawsuit, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) allege the White House has turned Trumps tweets into official guidance to be communicated to the Department of Defense. They argue that this guidance infringes upon the equal protection and due process rights of trans troops. According to their complaint, the categorical exclusion of transgender people from military service based on their sex and transgender status lacks any rational basis and is therefore too arbitrary to comport with the Fifth Amendments equal protection component. Moreover, the policy would deprive transgender service members of their property and liberty interests based exclusively on their gender identity, a capricious deprivation of due process.
The complaint also asserts that the government cannot lawfully rescind rights already granted to trans troops. In June 2016, the Pentagon ended its ban on open trans service, a policy that many troops relied upon in coming out as transgender. The suit alleges that the military may not now reverse this policy and punish those troops who informed their commanding officers that they are transgender in reliance upon that promise from the Pentagon. It seeks an injunction prohibiting the categorical exclusion of transgender people from military service.
Trumps attempts to reinstate a ban have blindsided thousands of transgender service members who are now scrambling to determine what this means for their families and their futures, NCLR legal director Shannon Minter told me. We are appalled by the presidents callous mistreatment of transgender soldiers, and we want to send a message loud and clear that we will aggressively challenge any attempt to harm them.
The suits constitutional theories are especially compelling in light of the unprecedented nature of Trumps policy: Never before has the Pentagon invited a new group of individuals to serve, then broken its promise and purged them from the ranks based solely on political judgment. The due process concerns raised by such a move are heightened by troops reliance interest. It is one thing to prohibit transgender people from enrolling in the military in the first place. To invite enrolled trans troops to come out, then expel them for making that decision on the basis of mere animus would seem to push the limits of due process. As a general rule, the government may not extend a guarantee of liberty to individuals and then punish them for relying upon that guarantee. On the merits, the plaintiffs have a strong case.
In their lawsuit, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) allege the White House has turned Trumps tweets into official guidance to be communicated to the Department of Defense. They argue that this guidance infringes upon the equal protection and due process rights of trans troops. According to their complaint, the categorical exclusion of transgender people from military service based on their sex and transgender status lacks any rational basis and is therefore too arbitrary to comport with the Fifth Amendments equal protection component. Moreover, the policy would deprive transgender service members of their property and liberty interests based exclusively on their gender identity, a capricious deprivation of due process.
The complaint also asserts that the government cannot lawfully rescind rights already granted to trans troops. In June 2016, the Pentagon ended its ban on open trans service, a policy that many troops relied upon in coming out as transgender. The suit alleges that the military may not now reverse this policy and punish those troops who informed their commanding officers that they are transgender in reliance upon that promise from the Pentagon. It seeks an injunction prohibiting the categorical exclusion of transgender people from military service.
Trumps attempts to reinstate a ban have blindsided thousands of transgender service members who are now scrambling to determine what this means for their families and their futures, NCLR legal director Shannon Minter told me. We are appalled by the presidents callous mistreatment of transgender soldiers, and we want to send a message loud and clear that we will aggressively challenge any attempt to harm them.
The suits constitutional theories are especially compelling in light of the unprecedented nature of Trumps policy: Never before has the Pentagon invited a new group of individuals to serve, then broken its promise and purged them from the ranks based solely on political judgment. The due process concerns raised by such a move are heightened by troops reliance interest. It is one thing to prohibit transgender people from enrolling in the military in the first place. To invite enrolled trans troops to come out, then expel them for making that decision on the basis of mere animus would seem to push the limits of due process. As a general rule, the government may not extend a guarantee of liberty to individuals and then punish them for relying upon that guarantee. On the merits, the plaintiffs have a strong case.