【1976 Archives】

In what976 Archivesbeing hailed as a victory for the transgender community, a federal judge on Monday blocked part of President Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military.

The president made his ban, which first came to light in three surprise tweets, official in August. His directive also prevented those serving from receiving gender-confirmation surgery paid for by their military benefits, unless doing so would harm individuals already transitioning. 

While U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the military should return to the Obama-era policy of allowing transgender people to serve, she did not overturn Trump's order to prevent health benefits from covering gender-confirmation surgery. Trump had pointed to the health benefits cost of trans service members as a reason for the ban, but that was slammed hard by opponents as the military spends five times more on Viagra than gender-confirmation surgery.  

Here's the full injunction:

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The injunction is a response to the first lawsuit filed against the transgender ban in August. GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) challenged the ban on behalf of five service members.

“This court saw straight through the smokescreen the government tried to create to hide the bias and prejudice behind Trump’s change in military policy. This clear, powerful ruling confirms that there is no legitimate reason to exclude transgender people from military service,” said Jennifer Levi, director of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project, in a statement.

Lambda Legal, who sued the government on behalf of six service members and three people who wanted to join in a separate case that is pending, also applauded the decision.

Most parts of the ban were set to take effect in 2018, but as Lambda Legal senior attorney Peter Renn said in a phone call, the ban was already causing immediate harm to those enlisted or planning to join the military.

"This decision makes clear the president's ban is patent discrimination," the lawyer said.

Several politicians also supported the court's decision on Twitter.

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The Trump administration can still appeal the decision, which is a likely next step.