\n
![\"james](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/mattis.jpeg?resize=195%2C195\")
<\/p>\nTrump Issues Late Night Policy Memo Banning Most Transgender Servicemembers<\/b>
\n<\/p>\n
![\"james](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/mattis.jpeg?resize=740%2C367\")
<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Washington Post<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n 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\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026Current 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<\/a> before joining the military and are able to deploy across the world, Mattis recommended.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plan has no immediate effect, as four federal courts have already issued nationwide preliminary injunctions stopping his ban from moving forward,\u201d noted the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).<\/p>\n The White House released this statement at 9:45 pm Friday night:<\/p>\n Today, the President rescinded his previous memorandum on\u00a0transgender\u00a0service in the military in order to allow Secretary Mattis to implement a new policy developed through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.<\/p>\n The experts\u2019 study sets forth a policy to enhance our military\u2019s readiness, lethality, and effectiveness.\u00a0 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\u2014those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery\u2014presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality.<\/p>\n This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards\u2014including those regarding the use of medical drugs\u2014equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen.\u00a0The Secretary of Defense\u2019s memorandum and accompanying report have been made public today.<\/p>\n The ACLU blasted the new policy:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the\u00a0White<\/span>\u00a0House<\/span>\u00a0has 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\u2019s reckless and unconstitutional ban, undermining the ability of\u00a0transgender<\/span>\u00a0service members to serve openly and military readiness as a whole.<\/p>\n \u201cThe policy\u00a0effectively coerces\u00a0transgender<\/span>\u00a0people who wish to serve\u00a0into choosing between their humanity and their country, and makes it clear that\u00a0transgender<\/span>\u00a0service members are not welcome.\u00a0Transgender<\/span>\u00a0people in our military deserve more from their government than a myth-driven proclamation about their unfitness for full civic inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n Lambda Legal responded:<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u00a0Tuesday, March 27<\/span>, Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN will be in court asking a federal judge to make the injunction permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Peter Renn about the implementation plan:<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u201cplan\u201d 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\u00a0transgender\u00a0people lacked any foundation and lifted the ban. Since then,\u00a0transgender\u00a0troops had been serving openly and successfully \u2014 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 \u2013 six to date \u2013 has found that it reeks of undisguised and unlawful discrimination against qualified\u00a0transgender\u00a0people willing and able to serve our country, and blocked its implementation. That block remains in effect, notwithstanding the release of the plan today.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Trump Issues Late Night Policy Memo Banning Most Transgender Servicemembers<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0Trump Mulled the Transgender Military Ban for Just 10 Minutes Before Announcing It on Twitter: BOOK<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n