Ana Reyes, a US District Judge for the District of Columbia, has issued a temporary injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order and banning transgender people from joining the military.
A federal judge found that the Trump administration’s ban violates the equal protection provisions of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution, as it discriminates against trans service members based on transgender status and gender.
Reyes said Trump’s executive order was “immersed in animus.”
“The language is surprisingly sleazy, its policy accusing trans people of inherently ineligible, and its conclusions have nothing to do with facts,” she wrote. “Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender services members have sacrificed their lives at risk in order to ensure that the ban on military services have a very equal right of protection for others that they are trying to deny.”
Reyes said there appears to be sufficient evidence to support the plaintiff’s claims. This includes transgender active service members affected by service restrictions — he said the prohibition is not only discriminatory, but is motivated by the animus.
“The plaintiffs argue that any level of scrutiny has failed because the military ban is supported by the Animus,” Reyes said. “The defendant responds that the court cannot investigate the subjective intent of the ‘government officials’. Certainly, the courts cannot read minds. ”
Reyes continued:[Trump’s executive order] And Hegseth’s Policy Tag Transgender people are weak, dishonorable, undisciplined, proud, selfish liars who are not worthy of spiritual and physical service. The accompanying fact sheets stack up, calling trans people more unhealthy and ineligible, rather than insane. It’s almost not subtle. However, refusing to abandon the ghost, the defendant refused to answer whether this language proved animus. However, there is no such issue in the courts. It turns out that the banned military language proves that it “naked… wants to harm a politically unpopular group.” ”
Reyes has won Heading Due to her harsh questions and openly, to the lawyer defending the Trump administration’s position during last week’s court hearing. He expressed skepticism He questioned whether the policy was motivated by anti-transgender sentiment over the debate that Justice Lawyers issued to justify the ban. She claimed at the hearing that the Pentagon was “grossly misquoted.”Cherry chose“Scientific research falsely argues that the presence of transgender individuals reduces military preparation and lethality.
In her ruling, Reyes has holed up the debate on the government’s ban, but despite appeals to the military’s “strict physical and mental fitness requirements,” trans individuals currently serving already meet those requirements.
Furthermore, she noted that the Trump administration’s policies, promulgated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, targeted all service members receiving hormone therapy and surgical interventions such as mastectomy and genital reconstruction surgery, but only transgender people who received such treatment for the transition were designated.
Reyes also argued that sharing an intimate space with a transgender individual is also a red herring, referring to intersex individuals who may present anatomically different from their chromosomal gender.
However, she said the military has not separated bedrooms, showers and toilet facilities based on anatomical sex.
Reyes also opposed the allegation that the cost of providing gender-affirming care to trans service members is prohibitively expensive, noting that the Department of Defense spends eight times more on Viagra than gender-preserving healthcare each year.
Reyes pointed out that there is a huge amount of evidence that the current administration is hostile to transgender identity. Trump’s executive order recognizes only two genders, blocks affirming gender identity, and blocks care that links minor gender, except for gender-neutral gender markers in identity documents. She said that mentions of transgender identity were scrubbed from the federal government website.
“This court has not expressed its opinion on the constitutionality of these actions,” writes Reyes. “That being said, the surge in government actions directed at transgender people — denies everything from necessary medical care to access homeless shelters — must suspend in courts that have been asked to consider whether such an order promotes legitimate government interests without animus.”
The nationwide interim injunction issued by Reyes prevents the Department of Defense from forcing transgender individuals to be discharged, refused medical care, or banned from deploying them overseas.
Reyes delayed the impact of her injunction until March 21st, giving the Trump administration time to appeal her decision.
“The president and defendants could have created a policy that balances the country’s need for equal protection for the prepared military and the Americans,” she concluded. “But they can still do it. But the ban on military lies not that policy. Therefore, the courts must act in favor of the equal protection that the military defends every day.”
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, representing the military plaintiffs, celebrated Reyes’ “conclusive” ruling and expressed hope that it would withstand an appeal by the Trump administration.
Calling the ban “irrational,” NCLR attorney General Shannon Minter said in a statement that the ban would have a disastrous effect on transgender servicemen.
“[The ban] They would have left them to end the careers of dedicated trans service members, create HR gaps and play an important role for others,” Minter said.
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Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
