Trump’s Ban on Transgenered Military Personnel Blocked
And if Hair Furor’s day couldn’t get any worse….
USA Today via MSN: Trump’s ban on transgender troops blocked
WASHINGTON — A federal court on Monday blocked President Trump’s ban on transgender service members, preventing the Pentagon from overturning policies initiated by the Obama administration to allow transgender troops from serving openly.
The order in Washington by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly temporarily prevents to the Pentagon from enacting the ban that Trump announced by tweet in July. It is the first court order following challenges to Trump’s ban and can be appealed.
The court found that Trump’s ban likely means the plaintiffs - transgender troops some with decades or meritorious service - had their rights to due process violated.Kollar-Kotelly found several factors that favored the plaintiffs, notably the unusual way Trump announced it and “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.”
Lawyers for the plaintiffs hailed the decision, saying that it means the guarantees made under the Obama administration to transgender troops, including medical care, are back in place. That also means the Pentagon must begin making plans to accept new transgender troops by Jan. 1, 2018, said Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
“She basically wiped the slate clean,” Minter said of Kollar-Kotelly.
There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon.