The Supreme Court Allows Transgender Military Ban

At the end of January 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States allowed President Trump’s transgender military ban to go into effect.

At the end of January 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States allowed President Trump’s transgender military ban to go into effect, which many LGBT advocates have hailed as a cruel body of regulations. In a 5-to-4 order, the Supreme Court declined to take a stance on the legality of the prohibition, but allowed the ban to go into effect while the case works its way through the lower courts. Four Supreme Court justices, however, objected to allowing the Trump administration’s policy that prohibits transgender individuals from serving in the military to go into effect.

The Effect of the Supreme Court’s Decision

The government reports that as of 2016, there were 8,980 members in the United States military who identify as transgender. During the Obama administration, 937 members were diagnosed with gender dysphoria and completed their gender transitions. As a result of Trump’s military ban, a large number of transgender individuals are now disqualified from participating in the military. Some transgender individuals, however, are still allowed to enroll in the military, which include the following groups:

• Military members who have been stable for three years in their current biological sex before joining the military. In this context, stable means having completed gender reassignment surgery and hormone treatments.
• Service members who were diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” after joining the military are able to remain in the military if they do not require a change of gender. The American Psychiatric Association defines gender dysphoria as a conflict between a person’s assigned gender and the gender with which the individual identifies.
• Service members who were diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” before the effective date of the policy are still able to serve and receive medical treatment.
• Transgender individuals who have not received a gender dysphoria diagnosis are able to serve in their birth sex.

In addition to these categories, the Defense Department is still able to issue waivers on a case-by-case basis. As a result, it is possible that someone who is transgender and who does not fall into any of the exceptions might still be able to avoid the military ban.

Response to the Supreme Court’s Decision

There has been a mixed response to the Supreme Court’s prohibition of transgender individuals in the military. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressed outrage at the decision. The Justice Department, however, responded positively to the decision and stated that the Defense Department has the authority to create and implement policies that it determines are necessary to protect the country. The LGBT Research and Communication Project at the Center for American Progress went so far as to refer to the military ban as “dehumanizing” and indirectly communicating to transgender individuals that the government will not protect them.

The Goal of the Universal Life Church

Despite several legal advancements for transgender individuals in the last decade, there have also been several substantial setbacks including this recent prohibition against transgender individuals in the military. The Universal Life Church strives to document the most noteworthy developments in transgender rights and discuss them here.

(image courtesy of Stijn Swinnen)