In a 5-4 vote, the US Supreme Court granted stays in Trump v. Karnoski and Trump v. Stockman injunctions on the Trump administration’s ban of transgender people serving in the military. The decision permits the discriminatory policy to move ahead until a final decision is made, potentially allowing transgender servicemembers to be discharged, and applicants for enlistment to be denied. Some are looking to an appeals law firm to lodge against this movement, however.
“We stand with our youth and our community in speaking up for what is right. Service to our nation takes many forms, and the ability to serve in the military provides many valuable opportunities including education, experience, and employment. This decision stands in the way of qualified and committed people accessing those opportunities. Further, it denies our country the opportunity to recruit the very best qualified candidates seeking to serve our nation simply because of their gender identity,” said HMI CEO Thomas Krever. “The perpetuation of the myth that people are somehow less qualified because of their gender identity is egregious.”
In a November 2017 decision, U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis called Trump’s ban “A capricious, arbitrary, and unqualified tweet of new policy does not trump the methodical and systematic review by military stakeholders qualified to understand the ramifications of policy changes.”
HMI is committed to equality and equity for transgender and gender non-conforming youth. LGBTQ young people deserve every opportunity to contribute to society and to succeed.
All HMI programming, including job training, health and wellness services, and education is welcoming and supportive of all transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and questioning youth and their allies. HMI is proud to be a place where, despite what the government might do, transgender and gender non-conforming youth can thrive.
To learn more about the youth services provided by Hetrick-Martin Institute, visit www.hmi.org.
Background:
Since June of 2016, the US military has permitted transgender servicemembers to enlist and serve. The decision by then President Obama came after the Pentagon reported that transgender servicemembers would not be detrimental to the mission of US armed services. However, in a snap decision one year later, President Trump tweeted a new policy that would ban transgender people from service. The policy continues to be fought by our community. We are grateful to our partners at Lambda Legal and Outserve-SLDN, and all of the organizations and individuals working to achieve equality and justice for our communities.
You can read more about the Supreme Court’s decision and the trans military service ban at the following links: