A US federal judge on Tuesday suspended the Trump administration\u2019s ban on transgender people serving in the military, citing the principle of equality and dealing a blow \u2014 if only temporary \u2014 to the US president\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Referencing the US Declaration of Independence, which states that all humans are \u201ccreated equal,\u201d Judge Ana C. Reyes suspended President Donald Trump\u2019s late January order that excluded transgender people from the armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That suspension, however, will be put on pause until March 21 to give the government time to file an emergency stay at a higher court, according to Reyes\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order will nonetheless come as a blow to Trump\u2019s administration, which has made it a priority to strip protections for minorities since he took office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s January 27 executive order stated that \u201cexpressing a false \u2018gender identity\u2019 divergent from an individual\u2019s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since taking office, he has also declared that the US government will only recognize two sexes \u2014 male and female \u2014 that \u201care not changeable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of transgender people in the US military is estimated at about 15,000 out of around two million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reyes\u2019s order used unusually strong language in parts to criticize the order banning transgender Americans from serving in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Military Ban is soaked in animus and dripping with pretext,\u201d the judge wrote. \u201cIts language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judge said Trump \u201ccould have crafted a policy that balances the Nation\u2019s need for a prepared military and Americans\u2019 right to equal protection. They still can. The Military Ban, however, is not that policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo preventing transgender people from joining the military and halting gender transition treatment for others who are already in uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pentagon has also said it would begin removing transgender troops from the military unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis, according to a February memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US military lifted a ban on transgender troops in 2016, during Democrat Barack Obama\u2019s second term as president \u2014 but policies have seesawed under his successors Trump, Joe Biden and now Trump again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as states controlled by Democrats and Republicans have moved in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tuesday\u2019s order was in a case brought by a group of transgender people, either in the military or wishing to become so, to challenge Trump\u2019s latest executive order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AFP\/Vanguard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A US federal judge on Tuesday suspended the Trump administration\u2019s ban on transgender people serving in the military, citing the principle of equality and dealing a blow \u2014 if only temporary \u2014 to the US president\u2019s agenda. Referencing the US Declaration of Independence, which states that all humans are \u201ccreated equal,\u201d Judge Ana C. Reyes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":88391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-foreign-jurisdiction"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t