Three pro-transgender groups are suing the Pentagon after President Donald Trump announced that he would exclude people from the military who want to be treated as if they are members of the opposite sex.
“There are currently thousands of transgender people” who are “selflessly and patriotically” serving the United States, says the lawsuit filed on Thursday by three pro-transgender groups, Lambda Legal the Human Rights Campaign, and the Gender Justice League on behalf of “six actively serving transgender service members,” and “a transgender person seeking to enlist in the military.”
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit were listed as: Commander Emily “Hawking” Shilling, who is currently stationed in Maryland; Commander Blake Dremann, who is currently stationed in Guam; Lieutenant Commander Geirid Morgan, who is currently stationed in Maryland; Sergeant First Class Cathrine Schmid, who is currently stationed in Maryland; Sergeant First Class Jane Doe, who currently resides in Olympia, Washington; Staff Sergeant Videl Leins, who currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada; Matthew Medina, a 23-year-old transgender male in New Jersey who “wishes to serve in the military,” and the Gender Justice League, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit added that Trump’s executive order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” turns transgender service members “away and kicks them out—for no legitimate reason.”
“There are currently thousands of transgender people selflessly and patriotically serving in our Nation’s armed services across myriad roles, and many others seek to follow the same noble path,” the lawsuit said. “Transgender service members take the same oath as every other service member to serve our Nation and place themselves in harm’s way—potentially paying the ultimate price—in service of our Country.”
While Trump’s executive order does not specifically state that transgender military service members are barred from serving, it states that people who “express a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,” adding that this is “consistent” with the U.S. military’s mission:
Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false “gender identity” divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex 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 executive order also states that the policy of the U.S. government is “to establish high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity.”
“This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria,” the order continues. “This policy is also inconsistent with shift pronoun usage or use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s sex.”
The lawsuit adds that the “2025 Military Ban directs” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “to adopt and execute a policy establishing that a person being transgender in incompatible with military service, thereby preventing existing service members who are transgender continuing to serve and preventing transgender people from enlisting in, or acceding to, the armed forces in the future.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.