On August 9, five transgender members of the United States military – which includes Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans – sued President Trump in an attempt to challenge his ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.
For those who don’t know, on July 26, Trump took to Twitter to announce that the United States government “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity” in the military.
While the announcement, which cited unit disruption and healthcare costs, appealed to some, it created a tremendous amount of fear and uncertainty for thousands of transgender service members, many of whom came out last year after the Pentagon said it would allow transgender people to serve their country openly.
Interestingly, Trump’s tweets seemed to dismiss, and contradict, findings from a RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Pentagon. The study found and concluded that transgender people serving in the armed forces would “cost little and have no significant impact on unit readiness.”
Those suing the 45th president are three U.S. Army soldiers, one U.S. Air Force airman, and one member of the United States Coast Guard. All have come out to their commanding officers as transgender but will remain anonymous in the lawsuit due to the fear of retribution.
The suit claims that Trump’s tweets go against the rights of the service members to due process and equal protection under the law. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and the lawsuit asks the court to deem Trump’s directive as unconstitutional and to enforce injunctions to stop it.
Featured Image: twitter
