LOS ANGELES — Following the White House’s announcement of President Trump’s plan to implement his discriminatory transgender military ban, Equality California — Plaintiff in the lawsuit Stockman v. Trump, which challenges the ban — released the following statement from Executive Director Rick Zbur:
“At a time when our nation faces serious threats around the world, it’s baffling that President Trump remains focused on undermining our military by ripping thousands of distinguished service members from their posts. No matter what the White House calls it, this is the same unpatriotic and discriminatory ban that four federal courts have stopped from moving forward. All enlistees and service members should be subject to the same standards, and those who meet the standards should be allowed to serve openly and authentically. Period.”
The four separate federal court injunctions temporarily blocking the transgender military ban, which was first announced via Twitter and then in an August 25 memo, remain in place. The Department of Justice dropped its appeals of the four injunctions against the ban in late December. As a result, openly transgender people may enlist in the military and may serve under the military’s existing (pre-ban) open service policy. Transgender servicemembers have been serving openly since June 2016 without issue, and there are thousands of transgender servicemembers bravely serving the nation with distinction.
The White House’s arguments in favor of the ban have been debunked by high-ranking national security leaders across the political spectrum, including U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), Admiral Mike Mullen, former U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
Background on Stockman v. Trump: Equality California, along with four active transgender service members in the United States military and three transgender individuals who wish to enlist in the military, are the Plaintiffs in Stockman v. Trump, one of the four pending challenges to the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender service members. In November 2017, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra successfully intervened in the case to allow the State of California to join as co-Plaintiff. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders and Latham Watkins LLP are representing Equality California and the other Stockman v. Trump Plaintiffs. The original complaint, filed on September 5, 2017, is available here.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
