The Trump administration moved to fire transgender members of the military. The Department of Defense issued a memo saying that unless exemptions would be removed from the service.
The document, filed in court Wednesday, represents the latest salvo on transgender rights by Donald Trump and his Secretary of Defense Pete Hegzes.
“Gender discomfort is incompatible with military service by service members and military applicants who have a current diagnosis or history or show matching symptoms,” the memo says.
“The service by these individuals is not clearly in line with the interests of national security, not the best interests of military services.”
The memo follows Trump’s executive order signing in January that targeted transgender forces in a personal way, explaining that it “does not match the humility and selflessness needed by service members.”
Earlier this month, the Pentagon said the US military would no longer allow transgender individuals to join and would cease to implement or promote procedures related to gender transitions among service members. In announcing the policy, Heggs said that people who are already in the military with gender discomfort will be “treated with dignity and respect.”
Wednesday’s late memo went further. The Pentagon says it must create steps to identify troops that are transgender within 30 days, and then it must begin separating them from the troops within 30 days.
“Establishing high standards of service member preparation, lethality, cohesion, integrity, humility, uniformity and integrity is a policy of the US government,” the memo says.
“This policy contradicts medical, surgical, and mental health constraints that show individuals suffering from gender discomfort, or those with a current diagnosis or history, or symptoms of having gender discomfort.”
The Department of Defense said the exemption would only be recognized as “as long as there is an attractive government interest in maintaining service members that directly support combat capabilities.”
There are no requirements for transgender forces to self-identify, and there are no exact numbers in the department.
Pentagon data shows that the military has around 1.3 million active duty personnel. Transgender rights advocates say they have as many as 15,000 transgender service members. Officials say the number is thousands.
The move that went further than the restrictions Trump imposed on members of transgender services during his initial administration was said to be unprecedented by his supporters. “The scope and severity of this ban are unprecedented. “Shanon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) said:
The memo was filed in court as part of a lawsuit filed by the NCLR and the pleasant law. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the January executive order and alleges it violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment.
