Transgender Service Members File Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Trans Military Ban
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/transgender-service-members-file-lawsuit-challenging-trump-s-trans-military-ban/ar-AA1y1nPz?ocid=windirect&cvid=09df515382db4552896717a05c70fd94&ei=29
Story by Lil Kalish (28 Jan 2025)
Two national LGBTQ+ advocacy groups on Tuesday filed the first federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed the suit, Talbott v. Trump, on behalf of six active-duty trans service members and two prospective service members. The groups allege that the ban violates the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The plaintiffs argue that the ban isn't based on "any legitimate government purpose," and instead reflects "animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status."
"It slams the door on qualified patriots who meet every standard and want nothing more than to serve their country, simply to appease a political agenda," Jennifer Levi, an attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said in a written statement. "That's not just un-American, it makes our country weaker by pushing away talented service members who put their lives on the line every day for our nation."
This new order... mandates that the Department of Defense update its medical standards within 60 days, bar people assigned male at birth sleeping, changing or bathing in women's facilities, and end "invented and identification based pronoun usage" among the ranks.
It's unclear what will happen to trans service members who are currently receiving care through Tricare, the military's health care program.