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Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Western New England Law prof fighting Trump's ban on trans people from military
SPRINGFIELD — One day after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that called for a ban on transgender people from the military, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sued the government. Filed in late January, the case was the first lawsuit to challenge the ban, according to The Associated Press. One of the lead attorneys is Jennifer Levi, a senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD and a professor of law at Western New England University. 'This is such a compelling case, because the service members I represent have met all the rigorous standards for service in the military,' Levi said. 'There's no justification the military has advanced that explains why someone who is meeting those rigorous standards can't continue to (serve).' A federal judge has since blocked enforcement of Trump's order, but the matter isn't settled in the long-term, as lawsuits and a federal government appeal play out. On Jan. 27, Trump's executive order 'Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness' declared that transgender people are not fit to serve in the military. 'Expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,' it said. 'A man's assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.' The order directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to update policies. Levi and attorneys from other firms filed the suit on behalf of six transgender service members and two inactive members who wanted to re-enlist. More plaintiffs have joined since then. The ban has been devastating for transgender servicemembers, Levi said. One person she heard from was pulled out of an active combat zone and put on administrative leave, she said. 'They are people who have put their lives on the line, some of them for decades, to protect the values and the principles upon which our country stands,' Levi said. That includes plaintiffs like Nicolas Talbott, a second lieutenant in the Army. Talbott, 31, is assigned to the Army Reserves in Pennsylvania, according to the complaint. 'When you put on the uniform, differences fall away, and what matters is your ability to do the job,' Talbott said in a statement. 'My being transgender has no bearing on my dedication to the mission, my commitment to my unit, or my ability to perform my duties in accordance with the high standards expected of me and every servicemember.' In that lawsuit case, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., blocked the order last month, saying it likely violates transgender service member's constitutional rights. A federal appeals court then temporarily paused Reyes' stay while it considers the issue. Oral arguments are scheduled Tuesday in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys that are representing the government did not immediately reply to The Republican's request for comment on the lawsuit and appeal. In the case of a similar lawsuit challenging the federal ban, a judge in Washington state also blocked the order last month, a pause that remains in effect. Transgender people are currently allowed to serve as the cases moved forward, Levi said. The issue could end up in the nation's highest court. 'It's obviously an issue of national significance,' Levi said. 'This administration has been aggressive in its efforts to see policies enforced. It would be not surprising to see it head to the Supreme Court.' In 2017, GLAD and others sued over another ban of transgender people in the military, which the Supreme Court in 2019 allowed to take effect while suits against it were pending. Joe Biden later reversed the ban. 'This current purge of transgender people is harsher and more wide-sweeping in its breath,' Levi said. Transgender military members would be subject to administrative separation, a process typically used for misconduct, Levi said. It can have a 'harsh and has long-lasting impact even after discharge,' she said. Even before Trump's inauguration, Levi was hearing concerns from transgender people about future policies. 'There are thousands of transgender people serving in the military that had to plan for navigating such a harsh presidential administration,' Levi said. The Department of Defense has estimated there's about 4,240 transgender people in the U.S. military. In the current 'challenging times,' Levi said her work gives her hope. 'I have a deep and abiding belief in our constitutional democracy,' she said. 'I think the founding principles of justice and equality and liberty are strong, and it's in moments of political challenge, where it's even more important to strive to ensure the promises of freedom and liberty and equality in the constitution are realized by everyone.' Plantings on West Springfield Town Common win recognition Holyoke Police capture suspect wanted for child abuse West Springfield committee to review town charter Suspect linked to stabbing at a WMass McDonald's arrested
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Another federal judge protects transgender Air Force members from adverse government action
A federal judge in New Jersey granted a temporary restraining order Monday blocking the U.S. military from separating two transgender airmen under President Donald Trump's reinstated transgender military ban, offering immediate protection as the broader challenge to the policy plays out in court. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. The order came in Ireland v. Hegseth, filed on behalf of Master Sgt. Logan Ireland and Staff Sgt. Nicholas Bear Bade, who were recently removed from their posts and placed on involuntary administrative absence under the Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness executive order, EO 14183. Both have served with distinction in the Air Force for years. 'These Airmen have risked everything to protect American freedoms — they deserve better than becoming the targets of a calculated, political purge,' said Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law, which is representing the plaintiffs alongside the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the law firms Stapleton Segal Cochran, and Langer Grogan & Diver. The court's order halts the Air Force from continuing administrative separation proceedings against the two while litigation continues. It follows a separate ruling last week in Talbott v. Trump, in which a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction blocking the ban's enforcement nationwide. D.C. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes called it discriminatory, unsupported by evidence, and 'soaked in animus.' Despite that ruling, Ireland and Bade were still facing imminent expulsion, prompting a separate filing in New Jersey when the judge in the Talbott case denied an amendment to include their names before the injunction hearing. 'These are two guys who needed immediate relief,' Shannon Minter, legal director at NCLR, told The Advocate. 'We initially were trying to add them to the D.C. case, but by the time we were seeking to add them, it was too late to include them before the preliminary injunction hearing, so we couldn't wait.' In granting the temporary order, U.S. District Judge Christine P. O'Hearn wrote that Ireland and Bade demonstrated both a likelihood of success in challenging the ban and the risk of irreparable harm — including loss of career, damage to their reputations, and violation of constitutional rights. The court rejected arguments by government attorneys that the plaintiffs could seek relief through internal military channels, citing their removal from deployment and looming involuntary separation proceedings set to begin Wednesday. '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,' O'Hearn wrote. Pentagon officials told Reyes in D.C. that separations would not begin until Friday. Bade, a six-year Air Force veteran inspired by his grandfather's World War II service, had been deployed in Kuwait as part of the base's security forces. He was pulled from duty and forced home. 'For six years, I've strived to embody what Americans expect from their military: expertise, character, and leadership,' Bade said. 'Now, I've been prevented from serving the troops I mentor and the nation I've committed my life to protect — all while living by the Airman's Creed that I will never falter, and I will not fail.' Ireland, a decorated 14-year veteran stationed in Hawaii, had been attending a training mission in New Jersey when he was ordered to leave and placed on administrative absence. 'My team in the Indo-Pacific wants their leader back — the one who wears the same uniform and swore the same oath as they did,' Ireland said. Monday's ruling comes just days after a tense hearing in D.C., where Reyes grilled Justice Department attorneys over the administration's last-minute effort to undo the nationwide block on the policy in Talbott. 'There's nothing in the record right now that tells me how many complaints there have been with respect to unit cohesion or military readiness with respect to gender dysphoria,' Reyes told DOJ lawyer Jean Lin, who was unable to identify who authored the policy or whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had even reviewed it. Reyes accused the administration of 'gaslighting' the court and called its claims 'frankly ridiculous,' warning that any transgender service member negatively affected before the stay on the injunction is lifted could seek a TRO — which is precisely what Ireland and Bade have now obtained. As both the Talbott and Ireland cases proceed, advocates stress that the stakes extend beyond a few individual careers. 'Thousands of transgender service members like me fill critical roles requiring years of specialized training,' Ireland said. 'Removing us creates dangerous operational gaps across every theater.' The New Jersey case was narrowly focused on preventing immediate harm to the two plaintiffs, Minter said. 'We're just seeking narrow relief for those two, just to prevent them from being put into separation proceedings while this is all getting sorted out in the D.C. and soon Washington cases,' he said. 'If the D.C. Circuit allows the injunction to go into effect, then their case is fine. They don't need to take any further action right now. If it does not, then they will need to seek a PI [preliminary injunction] from that judge.' The restraining order remains in effect for 14 days unless extended.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge blocks Trump's transgender military ban
A federal judge Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from enlisting or serving in the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled that the ban violates the equal protection clause because it discriminates based on transgender status and sex. Reyes said the ban 'is soaked in animus.' 'Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact,' she wrote. Reyes added, 'Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed — some risking their lives — to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them.' Reyes delayed the effect of her preliminary injunction until Friday to give the administration time to appeal it. She added in her order that the government 'could have crafted a policy that balances the Nation's need for a prepared military and Americans' right to equal protection.' 'They still can,' she said. 'The Military Ban, however, is not that policy. The Court therefore must act to uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day.' The White House and Justice Department did not immediately return requests for comment. Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is representing several trans service members and trans people who want to enlist in a lawsuit, said Reyes acted quickly 'to shield our troops from the harmful effects of this irrational ban.' 'The ban's harmful impact and rushed implementation show that it was motivated by prejudice,' Minter said. 'Our plaintiffs include lifelong military personnel who served in combat in Afghanistan, come from multi-generation military families, and have received honors like the Bronze Star. This ban is unjustifiable and attacks brave servicemembers, recruits, and families who sacrifice so much for our country.' Trump's order goes much further than a similar policy he issued during his first term, which prohibited trans people from enlisting and allowed those already serving to continue doing so in a manner consistent with their gender identity and receiving transition-related medical care if they came out prior to the ban. Service members who came out after were not allowed to receive such medical care and had to continue serving in a manner consistent with their assigned sex at birth. The new policy prohibits trans people from enlisting and also requires the military to identify all trans service members who have 'a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria,' which is the medical term for the severe emotional distress caused by the misalignment between one's gender identity and birth sex, according to a memo the Pentagon filed in the lawsuit last week. Those identified by the Pentagon will be disqualified from service and must be removed from their jobs. They will receive an honorable separation unless their record reflects otherwise, according to the memo. In January, two national LGBTQ legal organizations, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and NCLR, filed suit against Trump's executive order on behalf of six active-duty trans service members and two trans people seeking to enlist. They argued that the ban discriminates against trans people and also 'reflects animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status.' The order, the lawsuit stated, declared that being trans fundamentally 'conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life.' 'A man's assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,' the order states. Reyes pushed Justice Department attorney Jason C. Lynch on that language during preliminary hearings last month, asking repeatedly whether he believed it showed animus against the trans community. 'Would it be fair to say that excluding a group of people from military service based on unsupported assertions that they are liars, immodest, lack integrity, are undisciplined and are dishonorable, would you agree with me that — particularly where there's no support for any of those assertions — that that is animated by animus?' Reyes asked Lynch, who declined to answer. Multiple Defense Department memos also state that enlisted service members will be required to use pronouns and salutations, such as sir and ma'am, that align with their birth sex. Reyes pressed Lynch on how pronoun usage affects military readiness. 'I don't—' Lynch said, before the judge interrupted him. 'Because it doesn't,' Reyes said. 'Because any common sense rational human being understands that it doesn't.'This article was originally published on
NBC News
19-03-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's transgender military ban
A federal judge Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from enlisting or serving in the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled that the ban violates the equal protection clause because it discriminates based on transgender status and sex. Reyes said the ban 'is soaked in animus.' 'Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact,' she wrote. Reyes added, 'Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed — some risking their lives — to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them.' Reyes delayed the effect of her preliminary injunction until Friday to give the administration time to appeal it. She added in her order that the government 'could have crafted a policy that balances the Nation's need for a prepared military and Americans' right to equal protection.' 'They still can,' she said. 'The Military Ban, however, is not that policy. The Court therefore must act to uphold the equal protection rights that the military defends every day.' The White House and Justice Department did not immediately return requests for comment. Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is representing several trans service members and trans people who want to enlist in a lawsuit, said Reyes acted quickly 'to shield our troops from the harmful effects of this irrational ban.' 'The ban's harmful impact and rushed implementation show that it was motivated by prejudice,' Minter said. 'Our plaintiffs include lifelong military personnel who served in combat in Afghanistan, come from multi-generation military families, and have received honors like the Bronze Star. This ban is unjustifiable and attacks brave servicemembers, recruits, and families who sacrifice so much for our country.' Trump's order goes much further than a similar policy he issued during his first term, which prohibited trans people from enlisting and allowed those already serving to continue doing so in a manner consistent with their gender identity and receiving transition-related medical care if they came out prior to the ban. Service members who came out after were not allowed to receive such medical care and had to continue serving in a manner consistent with their assigned sex at birth. The new policy prohibits trans people from enlisting and also requires the military to identify all trans service members who have 'a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria,' which is the medical term for the severe emotional distress caused by the misalignment between one's gender identity and birth sex, according to a memo the Pentagon filed in the lawsuit last week. Those identified by the Pentagon will be disqualified from service and must be removed from their jobs. They will receive an honorable separation unless their record reflects otherwise, according to the memo. In January, two national LGBTQ legal organizations, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and NCLR, filed suit against Trump's executive order on behalf of six active-duty trans service members and two trans people seeking to enlist. They argued that the ban discriminates against trans people and also 'reflects animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status.' The order, the lawsuit stated, declared that being trans fundamentally 'conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life.' 'A man's assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,' the order states. Reyes pushed Justice Department attorney Jason C. Lynch on that language during preliminary hearings last month, asking repeatedly whether he believed it showed animus against the trans community. 'Would it be fair to say that excluding a group of people from military service based on unsupported assertions that they are liars, immodest, lack integrity, are undisciplined and are dishonorable, would you agree with me that — particularly where there's no support for any of those assertions — that that is animated by animus?' Reyes asked Lynch, who declined to answer. Multiple Defense Department memos also state that enlisted service members will be required to use pronouns and salutations, such as sir and ma'am, that align with their birth sex. Reyes pressed Lynch on how pronoun usage affects military readiness. 'I don't—' Lynch said, before the judge interrupted him. 'Because it doesn't,' Reyes said. 'Because any common sense rational human being understands that it doesn't.'
USA Today
18-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Judge grapples with whether to block Trump's order against transgender troops in military
Judge grapples with whether to block Trump's order against transgender troops in military Show Caption Hide Caption Transgender troops react to Trump military restrictions President Donald Trump has issued an executive order restricting transgender people in the military. WASHINGTON – During a contentious hearing Tuesday, a federal judge peppered Justice Department lawyers with hours of questions about how they justified President Donald Trump's executive order calling for a ban on transgender troops joining the military. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said she believed there were more than two sexes and asked Justice Department lawyers for additional legal arguments with biological findings that show there are just two. She voiced skepticism that adding pronouns to email signature lines hurt military readiness. And Reyes asked how the Pentagon could avoid banning transgender troops under Trump's order that said the "adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle." Jason Lynch, a department lawyer who defended the order, said it wouldn't necessarily lead to a complete ban on transgender troops. But Reyes said it looked like it would. 'He would say, 'Of course it is,'' Reyes said of Trump. 'Because he calls it a transgender ban because all the language in it is indicative if not requires a transgender ban.' Under an executive order on Jan. 27, Trump called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to develop guidance for military service within 30 days and medical standards within 60 days. Reyes said she wouldn't rule on a possible injunction against the order before the 30-day deadline next week but would wait to see what policy the Pentagon develops. But she said administration officials agreed not to change the treatment of transgender troops during that period. Lawyers who represented the troops from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders were asked almost no questions during the first three hours of the hearing before Reyes. Reyes got their agreement that the military mission can't be diluted by transgender troops, and must be mentally and physically fit to live in austere conditions. The hearing came as a dwindling majority supports transgender people serving in the military. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans support transgender service members, according to Gallup poll results released last week. But the 58% figure reflects a gradual decline since 2019, when 71% of Americans were in favor. In 2021, the figure was 66%. How long have openly transgender troops served in the military? The Pentagon began accepting transgender troops in June 2016. The change came after a year-long study and a RAND Corp. report on 18 other countries that allow transgender service found it would have no adverse impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the military would be best served when transgender individuals 'can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military just for being transgender.' Trump banned transgender service during his first term. Judges in four lawsuits initially blocked his order until the Supreme Court cleared the way for a revised policy in January 2019, which barred transgender people from enlisting, participating in Reserve Officers' Training Corps or attending military academies. Former President Joe Biden overturned Trump's order during his first week in office. But Trump reversed Biden's order and imposed another order. A group of service members and recruits filed a lawsuit asking Reyes to block Trump's mandate. 'This is a stark reversal of military policy,' the lawsuit says. Transgender people "will be discharged from service, lose their means of supporting themselves and their families, and stripped of the honor, status, and benefits associated with uniformed service to their country.' Lynch, the Justice Department lawyer who defended the order, said there was no evidence the Pentagon changed its policy during the first Trump administration because an appeals court blocked the initial version. But Reyes said the military changed its policy after courts blocked it, even if Lynch wouldn't acknowledge it was because of the courts. 'You and I are just going to have a fundamental disagreement about the sway of courts in our society," Reyes said. After one heated exchange with joking asides about whether they were sick of each other, Reyes commended Lynch for being well prepared and doing an excellent job in the litigation. Defense secretaries set policies for service Lynch argued that defense secretaries ultimately set policy for who serves in the military and they can disagree about the standards to impose. For example, the Pentagon sets numerous conditions on serving, including for heart conditions such as valve replacement or having a pacemaker, or for neurological conditions and schizophrenia. For transgender troops, Lynch said the military has paused recruitment because of uncertainty about what the new rules will be. But he said the military has not yet begun removing transgender troops. 'There has been some pausing, yes,' Lynch said. Reyes said the pauses hinted at an outright ban to come. But Lynch said pausing hiring doesn't provide evidence of what the ultimate policy will be. 'Who knows what could happen, right?' Reyes said. 'It might be like transgender-person-palooza under the policies.' 'I'm not sure I would put it that way, your honor,' Lynch replied. Reyes ordered more legal arguments about biology Reyes noted that a second Trump executive order stated that it is national policy to recognize two sexes: male and female. She said this would contribute to the military executive order because of a prohibition against males or females sharing sleeping, changing or bathing facilities of the other sex. But Reyes said not every person has an XX or XY chromosome at birth. She said there are 30 different examples of intersex people, such as those with XXX chromosomes or ambiguous genitalia. 'It is incorrect as a biological matter,' Reyes said of Trump's order. 'You understand that, right?'Lynch didn't agree and said he wasn't prepared to argue about biology. 'I don't understand that to be incorrect,' Lynch said of Trump's order. Reyes asked for more legal filings about the biology behind their arguments. Reyes questions whether pronouns hurt military readiness Reyes also questioned why the administration prohibited the use of pronouns in email signature lines. She invited Lynch to find a military officer who would testify in person that pronouns led to less preparedness. 'It is frankly ridiculous,' Reyes said. 'I will be the first to get you a box of cigars,' Reyes told Lynch, if he found an officer to testify. Reyes critiques, mocks personal attacks before hearing Reyes opened the hearing with a three-minute speech against those who had criticized her on social media and voicemail over her refusal in an unrelated case Friday to temporarily block Trump's firing of inspectors general. She said she usually shrugs off criticism but wanted to assure lawyers Tuesday that she could handle the case on transgender service members. Reyes said a voicemail was left at her chambers that said, 'Judge Reyes is amazing.' She said she shouldn't lie, that she appreciated a compliment. But the caller proceeded to call her an "amazing fascist who cannot read because English was her second language' and ended by saying, 'She belongs in a housedress, not a robe.' Reyes – who was born in Uruguay, grew up in Kentucky, and was appointed to the bench by former President Joe Biden in 2023 – assured lawyers at the hearing on Tuesday that she has 'been able to read for about a year now.' In fairness, she said her pet Golden Retriever Scout sometimes helps 'with some of the longer words.' Reyes also disputed that she ended the hearing Friday because she had a 'hot Valentine's date to get to.' 'If only,' Reyes said. 'It's not the case. If any of you are concerned, rest assured I do not have any dates planned for this week or the foreseeable future.' Who is fighting the ban on transgender troops? Participants in the lawsuit are: 2 nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott, a 31-year-old transgender man who has served for a year in an Army Reserve unit in Pennsylvania. Lt. Nicolas Talbott, a 31-year-old transgender man who has served for a year in an Army unit in Pennsylvania. Maj. Erica Vandal, a 36-year-old transgender woman stationed in New York who has served nearly 14 years in the Army. She was awarded a Bronze Star for her deployment to Afghanistan. Sgt. 1 st Class Kate Cole, a 34-year-old transgender woman stationed in California who has served 17 years in the Army. Class Kate Cole, a 34-year-old transgender woman stationed in California who has served 17 years in the Army. Capt. Gordon Herrero, a 34-year-old transgender man stationed in California who has served nine years in the Army. Ensign Dany Danridge, a 30-year-old transgender man enrolled in flight training in Florida who has served 12 years in the Navy. Senior Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, a 37-year-old transgender woman assigned to the Pentagon who has served 13 years in the Air Force.
