U.S. President Donald Trump's administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to reinstate the ban on transgender people from joining the military to take effect, while the lawsuits against it proceed.
What is the case about?
This executive order was one of firsts that Trump signed when he took office for his second term in January. He had already secured a ban from the Supreme Court during his first presidency.
According to the Trump administration, transgender people joining the military “conflicts with a soldier라이브 바카라 commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one라이브 바카라 personal life”, hampering the military integrity, AP reported. However, the ban cannot take effect until the country라이브 바카라 Supreme Court orders.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote, “a period far too long for the military to be forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to military readiness and the nation라이브 바카라 interests.”
The Supreme Court filing happened right after a federal appeals court said the current ban on the policy should stay in place across the United States.
Sauer wrote that for now the apex court should allow the ban to take effect across the country, exempting those seven service members and one member wanting to join the military, who filed the lawsuit. These lawyers of these members have seven days to respond, AP reported.
In the meantime, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a preemptive policy that stops transgenders from joining the military service with no exceptions.
The transgenders already serving in the military said that the ban is discriminatory and humiliating, adding that such a policy will jeopardize their careers, a U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, ruled in March.
Settle also questioned why the transgender troops who have been serving in the military for the past four years should be banned, especially since there have been no complaints about their presence. The Trump administration had no answer to the question posed.
Settle said that Trump's order likely violates the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment that allows equal protection under the law.
When were transgender people allowed to join the military?
Transgender people were only allowed to join the military in 2016 under Barack Obama라이브 바카라 administration. Even during Trump라이브 바카라 first term, the Republican issued an executive order to ban transgender service members. Those who had already started transitioning were allowed exemptions.
The Supreme Court permitted the ban back then, which was later scrapped by Democrat President Joe Biden.
AP reported that Sauer said the policy ban during Trump's first term and the current one are “materially indistinguishable.”
A federal appeals court halted the policy ban put in place by a federal judge in Washington D.C. last Tuesday. The three-judge panel of the federal appeals court includes two judges appointed by Trump during his first term.
Transgenders only constitute 1% of the active-duty service members, even though thousands of transgender people serve in the military.
