(The Guardian) Judge blocks Trump's removal of trans service members in another court victory for LGBTQ+ rights
A federal judge has ruled that the US government cannot remove two transgender men from the Air Force, the latest courtroom victory for LGBTQ+ rights advocates challenging Donald Trump’s executive order banning trans people from military service, the AP reports.
On Monday, Christine O’Hearn, a US judge in New Jersey, issued a two-week restraining order barring the enforcement of Trump’s policy on the impacted plaintiffs. O’Hearn’s ruling comes days after a similar ruling by a federal judge in Washington DC.
O’Hearn said the trans plaintiffs, Master Sgt Logan Ireland and Staff Sgt Nicholas Bear Bade, had shown that their removal from service would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations, the AP reported. The judge said they were likely to prevail on equal protection grounds as they had been singled out due to their sex, and that the US could not justify the discriminatory treatment. The restraining order said, in part: The loss of military service under the stigma of a policy that targets gender identity is not merely a loss of employment; it is a profound disruption of personal dignity, medical continuity, and public service.
Last week, Judge Ana Reyes of Washington DC sharply criticized Trump’s executive order, saying the ban on trans service members was “soaked in animus”, adding, “Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.” The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, subsequently mocked Reyes and subjected her to personal attacks.
A federal judge has ruled that the US government cannot remove two transgender men from the Air Force, the latest courtroom victory for LGBTQ+ rights advocates challenging Donald Trump’s executive order banning trans people from military service, the AP reports.
On Monday, Christine O’Hearn, a US judge in New Jersey, issued a two-week restraining order barring the enforcement of Trump’s policy on the impacted plaintiffs. O’Hearn’s ruling comes days after a similar ruling by a federal judge in Washington DC.
O’Hearn said the trans plaintiffs, Master Sgt Logan Ireland and Staff Sgt Nicholas Bear Bade, had shown that their removal from service would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations, the AP reported. The judge said they were likely to prevail on equal protection grounds as they had been singled out due to their sex, and that the US could not justify the discriminatory treatment. The restraining order said, in part: The loss of military service under the stigma of a policy that targets gender identity is not merely a loss of employment; it is a profound disruption of personal dignity, medical continuity, and public service.
Last week, Judge Ana Reyes of Washington DC sharply criticized Trump’s executive order, saying the ban on trans service members was “soaked in animus”, adding, “Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.” The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, subsequently mocked Reyes and subjected her to personal attacks.
