Yesterday the White House released a
Memorandum from the President on Military Service By Transgender Individuals (
full text). Implementing February 2018 recommendations and a related report (
full text) from the Secretary of Defense, the memo replaces an
earlier Presidential Memorandum and authorizes the military services to implement the Defense Department's recommendations. Those recommendations preclude most new enlistments by transgender individuals. They allow enlistment by transgender persons only if they have not been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, or if previously diagnosed with gender dysphoria they have been stable for 36 months in their biological sex. Those who require or have undergone gender transition are disqualified.
The Hill reports on the new Memorandum.
All of this may l\have little immediate effect.
Vanity Fair reports:
It is possible that the ban will never actually be put in place: while the Trump administration is framing the order as “a new policy developed through extensive study by senior uniformed and civilian leaders,” it is substantively the same as the previous Trump policy, which is currently facing multiple lawsuits on constitutional grounds. Four federal courts have issued injunctions in cases filed by civil rights groups, and may ultimately end up before the Supreme Court. The Pentagon said Friday that it will continue to abide by Obama-era policies welcoming transgender troops while those legal battles continue.
