US judge blocks Trump's transgender military ban

Jack Queen - Reuters - 19/03
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the U.S. military from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender people from military service while a lawsuit by 20 current and would-be service members challenging the measure goes forward.
  • Judge Reyes blocks enforcement of transgender military ban
  • Reyes finds Trump's order likely violates sex discrimination prohibition
  • Plaintiffs argue ban illegal, citing Supreme Court ruling on sex discrimination
March 18 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the U.S. military from enforcing President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender people from military service while a lawsuit by 20 current and would-be service members challenging the measure goes forward.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington found Trump's January 27 order, one of several issued by the Republican president targeting legal rights for transgender Americans, likely violated the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on sex discrimination.

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"The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender service members have sacrificed — some risking their lives — to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them," Reyes said.
Reyes was appointed by President Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic predecessor.
Jennifer Levi, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, praised the court for acting "decisively and swiftly."
"This ruling pulls no punches. The court methodically documented the concrete harms this ban inflicts on brave transgender service members who ask nothing more than to serve their country with honor," Levi said in a statement.
Representatives of the White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In response to Trump's order...
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