Transgenders in the military

Court Rules Military Must Accept Transgender Recruits by Jan. 1

A federal court has ruled that the U.S. military must begin accepting transgender service members by January 1. On Monday, the court issued a clarification to the preliminary injunction that the court imposed on President Donald Trump’s transgender policy.

Last month, a judge on the U.S. District Court ruled that the president’s order to ban new transgender recruits from joining the military — as well as potentially expelling current members — cannot be enforced while the case is being reviewed in court.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote that her injunction means that the military must continue to follow the policies established by former President Barack Obama‘s “June 30, 2016 Directive-type Memorandum,” which allowed transgender individuals to enlist beginning on January 1.
“Any action by any of the Defendants that changes this status quo is preliminarily enjoined,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote in the Monday memo.
In August, the judge released a lengthy memo accompanying her ruling in which she said the plaintiffs in the case, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, are likely to succeed by arguing that the president’s transgender ban violates their Fifth Amendment right to due process. The two groups sued in August on behalf of six unnamed service members and two recruits.
“The court finds that a number of factors—including the sheer breadth of the exclusion ordered by the directives, the unusual circumstances surrounding the President’s announcement of them, the fact that the reasons given for them do not appear to be supported by any facts, and the recent rejection of those reasons by the military itself — strongly suggest that Plaintiffs’ Fifth Amendment claim is meritorious,” she wrote last month.

The government asked the judge if it could push back the January 1 date but was denied. The six original plaintiffs in the case claimed that their rights to due process were violated. The judge also stated that the government offered no solid evidence on why the ban was necessary.

To read the entire article from The Hill, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

MTV Invites Transgender Military Personnel to 2017 VMAs

Reality television station MTV has extended an invitation to all of the active duty transgender troops in the United States military according to CNN. However, before the troops can attend, they must get approval by military authorities.

All active duty personnel face certain restrictions when participating in certain national public events. “At this time the Department of Defense is reviewing the parameters of the request,” Pentagon Spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Haverstick said.

“This is about who is considered a valid human being,” says first openly trans person to serve in U.S. Army
“MTV has invited transgender members of the U.S. armed forces to the 2017 Video Music Awards and we would be honored if they could attend,” MTV president Christopher McCarthy said. “Any patriot who is putting their own life at risk to fight for our freedom and stands for equality is a hero at MTV, and to young people everywhere.”
The network has taken steps this year to overhaul some of its categories to be gender neutral, replacing Best Male Video and Best Female Video with the new Artist of the Year award. MTV has also changed how it references its iconic trophy, which is now referred to as a “Moon Person” instead of a “Moonman.”

This year’s show is certain to draw a number of artists making political statements. In 2010, Lady Gaga mocked the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy by entering the stage with service members discharged due to homosexuality. Last year, former ‘NSync alum Lance Bass wore a jacket that read “Love Trumps Hate” in an effort to derail Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

With the number of transgender military members a hot-button issue for many, the acts of this year’s show are bound to reflect that.

To read the entire article from Rolling Stone, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Mattis Suggests Transgenders May Continue to Serve

With the Trump White House has still not provided the Defense Department the necessary policy guidance on transgender persons serving in the armed forces, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told the press, that DOD was continuing to study the issue. That statement hints that transgender military members may be allowed to continue to serve despite President Trumps’ announcement to ban their service back in July.

“We are going to study the issue,” Mattis said to the press on Monday at the Pentagon.

“The policy is going to address whether or not transgenders can serve under what conditions, what medical support they require, how much time would they be perhaps non-deployable leaving others to pick up their share of everything. There’s a host of issues and I’m learning more about this than I ever thought I would and it’s obviously very complex to include the privacy issues which we respect,” Mattis said.
“I am waiting right now to get the President’s guidance in and that I expect to be very soon,” he added.
Trump announced his plan to ban transgender service members on Twitter last month. The move took the Joint Chiefs of Staff by surprise, and the Pentagon has said it is awaiting an official order from Trump before making a policy change.

The White House still hasn’t sent any guidance to the Pentagon on the issue and Mattis told the press that the guidance issued by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Joseph Dunford in July still stands.

Dunford wrote in a memo “no modifications to the current policy until the President’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidelines.” “In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect,”

Trump when questioned by the media last week, stated that by banning transgender troops, he was, “doing the military a great favor.”

To read the entire article from CNN, click here:

Photo courtesy DOD