US military to accept transgender recruits on Monday: Pentagon

Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump salutes as he presides over a military parade following Trump's swearing-in ceremony in Washington, DC, US, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files Transgender people will be allowed for the first time to enlist in the US military starting on Monday as ordered by federal courts, the Pentagon said on Friday after President Donald Trump?s administration decided not to appeal rulings that blocked his transgender ban. Two federal appeals courts ? one in Washington and one in Virginia ? last week rejected the administration?s request to put on hold orders by lower court judges requiring the military to begin accepting transgender recruits on January 1. A Justice Department official said the administration will not challenge those rulings. ?The Department of Defense has announced that it will be releasing an independent study of these issues in the coming weeks," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "So rather than litigate this interim appeal before that occurs, the administration has decided to wait for DOD?s study and will continue to defend the president?s lawful authority in district court in the meantime,? he added. Lawyers representing currently serving transgender service members and aspiring recruits said they had expected the administration to appeal those rulings to the conservative-majority Supreme Court but were hoping that would not happen. Major Dave Eastburn ? a Pentagon spokesman ? said as of now, the Department of Defense plans to start accepting transgender recruits on Monday. In a move that appealed to his hard-line conservative supporters, Trump announced in July that he would prohibit transgender people from serving in the military, reversing Democratic former President Barack Obama?s policy of accepting them. Trump said on Twitter at the time that the military ?cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.? Four federal judges ? in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Riverside, California ? have issued rulings blocking Trump?s ban while legal challenges to the Republican president?s policy proceed. The judges said the ban would likely violate the right under the US Constitution to equal protection under the law. Openly transgender individuals would be able to join the armed forces for the first time, subject to certain medical standards set forth by the Pentagon. ?There has been a tremendous amount of care, thought and planning that has gone into the policy that is set to go into effect on Jan. 1 allowing transgender people to enlist,? Jennifer Levi ? a lawyer with LGBT advocacy group GLAD ? said. Both GLAD and the ACLU represent plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed against the administration. The administration had argued that the military was not prepared to train the personnel needed to properly assess transgender applicants. The Obama administration had set a deadline of July 1 of this year to begin accepting transgender recruits. But James Mattis ? Trump?s defence secretary ? postponed that date to January 1, which the president?s ban then put off indefinitely. Trump also has taken other steps aimed at rolling back transgender rights. In October, his administration said that a federal law banning gender-based workplace discrimination does not protect transgender employees, reversing an Obama-era position. In February, Trump rescinded guidance issued by the Obama administration saying that public schools should allow transgender students to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity.