Judge blocks enforcement of 'transgender military ban' by Trump

Washington, Oct 31 : A US federal judge has partially blocked enforcement of key provisions of President Donald Trump's memorandum banning transgender persons from serving in the military, the media reported.

On Monday, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia found the administration's justification for the ban, which was set to take effect in March 2018, to be suspect and likely unconstitutional, reports the news agency 'The New York Times'.

She ruled that the military's current policy should always remain in place.

"There is absolutely no support for the claim that the ongoing service of transgender people would have any negative effective on the military at all," the judge wrote in a strongly worded, 76-page ruling.

"In fact, there is considerable evidence that it is the discharge and banning of such individuals that would have such effects."

Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted that the White House's proposed policies likely violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution, writing that "a number of factors - including the sheer breadth of the exclusion ordered by the directives, the unusual circumstances surrounding the President's announcement of them, the fact that the reasons given for them do not appear to be supported by any facts, and the recent rejection of those reasons by the military itself - strongly suggest that Plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment claim is meritorious".

Monday's ruling was seen as an encouraging step for supporters.

It stopped a plan to discharge all transgender troops. It allows current transgender troops to re-enlist and permits transgender recruits to join the military starting in January.

In response to the ruling, the Justice Department said, "We disagree with the court's ruling and are currently evaluating the next steps," The New York Times reported.

Trump announced in a series of Twitter messages on July 26 that American forces could not afford the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of transgender troops, and said "the United States government will not accept or allow them to serve in any capacity in the US Military".

A presidential memorandum released on August 25 required all transgender service members to be discharged starting in March 23, 2018.

Civil rights groups immediately sued the administration on behalf of transgender service members, arguing that the ban was discriminatory and violated their constitutional right to due process and equal protection under the law.

A number of lawsuits are still pending.

"Big, huge news today," said Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, a Navy supply corps officer who is transgender and is the director of Sparta, an LGBT military group with more than 650 active-duty members.

"A lot of people's lives were put on hold. They thought their careers were ending. This means we can continue to serve with honour, as we have been doing."

Petty Officer Eva Kerry, 24, who is transgender and is training to operate nuclear reactors, said the ruling lifted an obsessive dread over the impending end of a Navy career she loves.

"I remain optimistic that the Constitution I swore an oath to will continue to protect the rights of all Americans," she told The New York Times.