Trump Issues Late Night Policy Memo Banning Most Transgender Servicemembers

The Trump administration issued a new policy on transgender servicemembers late Friday night that was immediately slammed by LGBTQ and civil rights groups as discrimination masked as policy.

The Washington Post reports:

The decision revokes a full ban that Trump issued last summer but disqualifies U.S. troops who have had gender reassignment surgery, as recommended by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis…

…Current transgender service members who have not undergone reassignment surgery should be allowed to stay, as long as they have been medically stable for 36 consecutive months in their biological sex before joining the military and are able to deploy across the world, Mattis recommended.

“The plan has no immediate effect, as four federal courts have already issued nationwide preliminary injunctions stopping his ban from moving forward,” noted the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).

RELATED: Trump Mulled the Transgender Military Ban for Just 10 Minutes Before Announcing It on Twitter: BOOK

The White House released this statement at 9:45 pm Friday night:

Today, the President rescinded his previous memorandum on transgender service in the military in order to allow Secretary Mattis to implement a new policy developed through extensive study by senior uniformed and civilian leaders, including combat veterans.

The experts’ study sets forth a policy to enhance our military’s readiness, lethality, and effectiveness.  On the advice of these experts, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security have concluded that the accession or retention of individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria—those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery—presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality.

This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards—including those regarding the use of medical drugs—equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen. The Secretary of Defense’s memorandum and accompanying report have been made public today.

The ACLU blasted the new policy:

“What the White House has released tonight is transphobia masquerading as policy. This policy is not based on an evaluation of new evidence. It is reverse-engineered for the sole purpose of carrying out President Trump’s reckless and unconstitutional ban, undermining the ability of transgender service members to serve openly and military readiness as a whole.

“The policy effectively coerces transgender people who wish to serve into choosing between their humanity and their country, and makes it clear that transgender service members are not welcome. Transgender people in our military deserve more from their government than a myth-driven proclamation about their unfitness for full civic inclusion.”

Lambda Legal responded:

“The ban was to go into effect today, March 23, based on the August 25, 2017 memorandum that followed the tweets, but has been stopped by preliminary injunctions won by Lambda Legal and others. On Tuesday, March 27, Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN will be in court asking a federal judge to make the injunction permanent.”

Said Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Peter Renn about the implementation plan:

“The “plan” unveiled today is nothing more than a transparent ruse cobbled together with spittle and duct tape designed solely to try to mask discrimination. A plan to implement an unconstitutional decree is an unconstitutional plan. In 2016, after careful and deliberate study, the Pentagon determined that the prohibition on open service by transgender people lacked any foundation and lifted the ban. Since then, transgender troops had been serving openly and successfully — until President Trump unleashed his incendiary barrage of uninformed tweets. We, along with our sibling organizations, moved quickly to block implementation of the plan, and every single federal court to look at this policy – six to date – has found that it reeks of undisguised and unlawful discrimination against qualified transgender people willing and able to serve our country, and blocked its implementation. That block remains in effect, notwithstanding the release of the plan today.”

The post Trump Issues Late Night Policy Memo Banning Most Transgender Servicemembers appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Issues Late Night Policy Memo Banning Most Transgender Servicemembers

BREAKING: Trump Sticking With Trans Military Ban

The president released a memo to that effect Friday evening, but the ban is still blocked by courts.

www.advocate.com/military/2018/3/23/breaking-trump-sticking-trans-military-ban

BREAKING: HRC Condemns Trump-Pence Transgender Troop Ban Policy

HRC condemned the newly-released official Trump-Pence Administration policy attempting to implement Donald Trump’s discriminatory ban on transgender troops. Trump’s hastily tweeted troop ban, which has now been turned into official policy, is opposed by national security leaders, military officials, servicemembers’ organizations and bipartisan elected officials, including top Republicans in Congress.
 
“There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-Pence Administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Donald Trump and Mike Pence are pushing their extreme anti-transgender prejudices onto the military over the overwhelming objections of bipartisan officials, national security leaders and the American public. We will never stop fighting this discriminatory policy until every current and future transgender service member is treated equally and respected fully for their bravery.”
 
“The Trump-Pence Administration continues to double down on its cruel and unconstitutional ban on transgender troops,” said HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride. “From the first impulsive tweet, this policy has clearly been driven by an extreme anti-LGBTQ agenda rather than what is in the best interests of our troops and national security. Transgender people are enlisting and serving with distinction right now, and there is no legitimate reason to change that. Moreover, releasing this news under cover of darkness late on a Friday night means thousands of transgender troops will wake up tomorrow with their lives turned upside down. This couldn’t be more cowardly or wrong.”

This guidance seeks to implement the Twitter policy of Donald Trump to ban transgender people from serving or enlisting in the military. In August, HRC joined as an organizational co-plaintiff in Karnoski v. Trump, a case brought by Lambda Legal and Outserve-SLDN, challenging the ban in court. HRC is joined by the American Military Partner Association, Gender Justice League, and nine individuals as co-plaintiffs in the case. Six separate federal courts have issued rulings blocking implementation of the ban. Barring further court action, the administration cannot implement this ban. 

Earlier this month, HRC, Lambda Legal, OutServe-SLDN, the American Military Partner Association, and Gender Justice League unveiled a new television ad — entitled “Patriots” — featuring military, national security, and bipartisan officials voicing opposition to the Trump-Pence administration’s ban on transgender servicemembers. The television ad is part of the largest paid media campaign against Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops since he tweeted the policy last July — and complements a full page print ad that ran in USA Today and more than 32 regional Gannett papers nationwide.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support open service of transgender service members. In July of 2017, the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted down an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act barring transgender servicemembers from accessing medically necessary transition related care. Following the president’s series of tweets in July of 2017, national security leaders and members of Congress from both parties condemned the policy:

• Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said, “when less than one percent of Americans are volunteering to join the military, we should welcome all those who are willing and able to serve our country.”
• Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) said, “if individuals are willing to put on the uniform of our country, be deployed in war zones, and risk their lives for our freedoms, then we should be expressing our gratitude to them, not trying to kick them out of the military.”
• Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) said, “we should not turn anyone away who is willing and able to serve our country, period. The president’s wrong.”
• Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) said, “you ought to treat everybody fairly and give everybody a chance to serve.”
• Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, “I don’t think we should be discriminating against anyone. Transgender people are people, and deserve the best we can do for them.”
• Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “thousands of transgender Americans are currently serving in uniform and there is no reason to single out these brave men and women and deny them the medical care that they require.”
• More than 50 retired Generals and Admirals released a joint statement warning the ban would degrade military readiness.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-condemns-plan-to-implement-trumps-transgender-troop-ban?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed