LGBTQ groups sue Trump administration over transgender military ban

[Lori Dee]

LGBTQ groups sue Trump administration over transgender military ban
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The Hill - Brooke Migdon
01/28/25 12:51 PM ET

Four LGBTQ civil rights groups said they will sue the Trump administration over an executive order signed late Monday effectively barring transgender people from serving openly in the military, calling the order discriminatory and cruel.

Two LGBTQ rights groups, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging President Trump and his administration over the order, which they argue violates the Constitution's equal protection clause.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is on behalf of six active service members and two individuals actively seeking enlistment. The plaintiffs serve across all branches of the military and are contributing among the highest levels, including a major, a captain, a sergeant and a navy pilot.

On Monday, Trump signed the order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to outline new military standards that declare transgender troops are not physically or mentally capable to serve. It tasks Hegseth, who has previously criticized allowing transgender people to serve, with issuing guidance to fully implement the order within 30 days and directs him "to end invented and identification-based pronoun usage" within the department.

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