U.S. military must accept transgender recruits by Jan. 1, judge rules

[webfact]

U.S. military must accept transgender recruits by Jan. 1, judge rules

By Andrew Chung and Idrees Ali

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. military personnel at Naval Air Station Sigonella following the G7 Summit, in Sigonella, Sicily, Italy, May 27, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi

 

(Reuters) - Transgender recruits will be able to join the U.S. military as of Jan. 1 after a federal judge on Monday denied a request by President Donald Trump's administration to enforce his ban on transgender troops while the government appeals an order blocking it.

 

In a ruling, with which the Pentagon said it would comply, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington refused to lift part of her Oct. 30 order stopping the ban from taking effect until the case is resolved, saying it likely violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law.

 

The White House said the Justice Department was reviewing its options.

 

The Pentagon said in a statement that it would follow court orders and begin processing transgender applicants on Jan. 1.

 

It added, however, that it and the U.S. Department of Justice "are actively pursuing relief from those court orders in order to allow an ongoing policy review scheduled to be completed before the end of March."

 

The administration had argued that the Jan. 1 deadline was problematic because tens of thousands of personnel would have to be trained on the medical standards needed to process transgender applicants, and the military was not ready for that.

 

Kollar-Kotelly rejected the concerns, saying preparations for accepting transgender troops were under way during the administration of Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

 

"The directive from the Secretary of Defense requiring the military to prepare to begin allowing accession of transgender individuals was issued on June 30, 2016 - nearly one and a half years ago," the judge said.

 

Several transgender service members filed a lawsuit after Trump said in July he would ban transgender people from the military, citing concern over military focus and medical costs.

 

In an August memorandum, Trump gave the military until March 2018 to revert to a policy prohibiting openly transgender individuals from joining the military and authorizing their discharge. The memo also halted the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgery for active-duty personnel.

 

Defense Secretary James Mattis had previously delayed a deadline that had been set during the Obama administration to begin enlisting transgender recruits to Jan. 1, which Trump's ban then put off indefinitely.

 

PENTAGON GUIDELINES

 

The Pentagon said on Monday there were a number of guidelines that would have to be met by the applicants.

 

It said that sex reassignment or genital reconstruction would be disqualifying factors unless a medical provider certified that a period of 18 months had passed since the most recent surgery, no complications persisted and additional surgeries are not required.

 

The service members who sued Trump, Mattis and military leaders in August had been serving openly as transgender people in the U.S. Army, Air Force and Coast Guard. They said Trump's ban discriminated against them based on their sex and transgender status.

 

In her October ruling, Kollar-Kotelly said the Trump administration's reasons for the ban "do not appear to be supported by any facts" and cited a military-commissioned study that debunked concerns about military cohesion or healthcare costs.

 

A federal judge in Maryland also halted the ban in Nov. 21 ruling.

 

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-12

[Jsinbkk]

She'll be overturned on appeal 

[thaibeachlovers]

No problem, providing they can pass the male physical entry qualifications and not some watered down ones for females, and are not assigned to cushy support positions. Every applicant for the services should expect to serve in a war zone, which at the moment is Afghanistan.

If they can do that, OK.

Absolutely should not be given gender surgery on the taxpayer.

[khwaibah]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_Kollar-Kotelly

1.  
2.  

Jump to Federal judicial service - Kollar-Kotelly was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 7, 1997, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated by Judge Harold H. Greene. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 20, 1997, and received commission on ..     

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, Jsinbkk said:

She'll be overturned on appeal 

Of course she will, but then they'll have to deal with all the transgenders that had to get signed up in the meantime.

However, as long as they can kill Taliban in Afghanistan, one body is probably as good as another.

I get the impression though, that some are signing up because they think they can get the surgery for free.

Remember when a lot of service personnel were complaining about being sent to Iraq back when GW started his war there? For some reason they thought they were in the services to have a job that didn't involve getting shot at.

[blazes]

Trannies for Trump?  Maybe not.

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Of course she will, but then they'll have to deal with all the transgenders that had to get signed up in the meantime.

However, as long as they can kill Taliban in Afghanistan, one body is probably as good as another.

I get the impression though, that some are signing up because they think they can get the surgery for free.

Remember when a lot of service personnel were complaining about being sent to Iraq back when GW started his war there? For some reason they thought they were in the services to have a job that didn't involve getting shot at.

No, the complaint was from veterans they had already gotten their honorable discharges and were functioning in civilian life. Then they got called back into service.

[smotherb]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No problem, providing they can pass the male physical entry qualifications and not some watered down ones for females, and are not assigned to cushy support positions. Every applicant for the services should expect to serve in a war zone, which at the moment is Afghanistan.

If they can do that, OK.

Absolutely should not be given gender surgery on the taxpayer.

Oh please, it is common knowledge that you do not have to have a boots-on-the ground MOS in the military; you can go for another specialty and learn a skill that will benefit you in civilian life--electronics, computers, engineering, logistic, mechanics, administration, etc., ad infinitum. I know many military men, even during my four years in Vietnam, who spent their tour of duty behind a desk, working regular hours with weekends off.  So, you need some specialized physical attributes to do that?

[joeyg]

5 hours ago, Jsinbkk said:

She'll be overturned on appeal 

No she'll get overturned at night in the barracks...

[khwaibah]

Trump administration requests emergency stay to stop transgender enlistment in January

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/11/trump-administration-requests-emergency-stay-to-stop-transgender-enlistment-in-january.html?cmpid=prn_msn

[Thaidream]

More nonsense from the Trump circus...spending time, effort and money to block a person's desire to serve their country.  What difference does a person's sex; orientation, gender or anything involving a person's differences have to do with serving in the military. Many jobs are noncombatant.  If they can do the job- they get in.  Trump doesn't like transgender people; the disabled; people of color or gays and its obvious and its reprehensible.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

No, the complaint was from veterans they had already gotten their honorable discharges and were functioning in civilian life. Then they got called back into service.

Everyone knows when they sign up that it involves a reserve component. They have nothing to complain about if that was what happened.

As for serving soldiers complaining about being sent to war, I don't have a link after all this time , but I remember it happened.

[Jingthing]

5 hours ago, blazes said:

Trannies for Trump?  Maybe not.

Definitely not.

Not even white ones.

trump isn't fooling anyone. His entire political movement is based on straight white male RESENTMENT. Bizarrely even the majority of white women fell for that crap, at least the first time. 

[Srikcir]

Will the military and Secret Service please use transgenders to fill the ranks in daily contact with Trump? Perhaps White House Chief of Staff John Kelly can get a transgender secretary. Ivanka can arrange it I'm sure.

[milwaukeeboy]

Why so many Trump haters on Thaivisa? 

Trump derangement syndrome? 

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, milwaukeeboy said:

Why so many Trump haters on Thaivisa? 

Trump derangement syndrome? 

It reflects the views of both the majority of Americans and most of the entire world as well.

The troll clown as president is simply not acceptable. He legally has the job but he should never be accepted as deserving it or that his DISGUSTING behavior and constant gaslighting and lying is any kind of normal. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting

 

In other words --

Why do so many people hate him? Because he deserves it. 

 

Edited December 12, 2017 by Jingthing

[joeyg]

22 hours ago, Thaidream said:

More nonsense from the Trump circus...spending time, effort and money to block a person's desire to serve their country.  What difference does a person's sex; orientation, gender or anything involving a person's differences have to do with serving in the military. Many jobs are noncombatant.  If they can do the job- they get in.  Trump doesn't like transgender people; the disabled; people of color or gays and its obvious and its reprehensible.

"Thank You!"

[joeyg]

20 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Will the military and Secret Service please use transgenders to fill the ranks in daily contact with Trump? Perhaps White House Chief of Staff John Kelly can get a transgender secretary. Ivanka can arrange it I'm sure.

"Thank You!"

[joeyg]

20 hours ago, milwaukeeboy said:

Why so many Trump haters on Thaivisa? 

Trump derangement syndrome? 

That's just the "tip of the iceberg man!!!"

[Thaidream]

Trump is incompetent;  racist; a homophobe; a misogynist and is completely unprofessional and unpresidential.  HIs sole interest is himself and wealthy friends and associates. He likes to make fun of the elderly; the disabled and people who are ill.

 

He has no redeeming human qualities. Do I hate him- No. Do I hate what he is doing- Yes.

[Jingthing]

27 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Trump is incompetent;  racist; a homophobe; a misogynist and is completely unprofessional and unpresidential.  HIs sole interest is himself and wealthy friends and associates. He likes to make fun of the elderly; the disabled and people who are ill.

 

He has no redeeming human qualities. Do I hate him- No. Do I hate what he is doing- Yes.

You're a better man than me. I also hate him. I hate all evil people that have power to hurt so many others. 

[PhonThong]

I would tell you, but not sure that is allowed.

Edited December 14, 2017 by PhonThong