WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders filed Jane Doe 1-5 v. Trump today in U.S. District Court on behalf of five service members who challenge President Trump's ban on so-called transgender people serving in the U.S. military. The defendants are listed as President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis and other military leaders.
Plaintiffs Jane Does 1-5 are described in the complaint as "transgender" with the female pronoun, meaning they are no doubt biological men who want to identify as women. The lawsuit claims President Trump's directive somehow violates Equal Protection and Due Process.
President Trump announced on July 26 that the U.S. government will not allow so-called transgender people "to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military." President Trump's announcement came just weeks after Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that he will defer implementation of Obama's transgender policy until January 1, 2018. The Obama-era policy would have allowed incoming service members who suffer from gender confusion to enlist if they have been "stable" in their gender identity for 18 months. The fact is, gender confusion is never "stable."
Liberty Counsel previously met with White House officials and others about the need to reverse the Obama military policy. Many military and civilian employees have recently contacted Liberty Counsel for assistance because they object to being forced to participate in LGBT training based upon their religious beliefs and conscientious objections. The training included use of preferred pronouns (he, she or ze for neither gender), use of showers, sleeping quarters and private facilities, and how to deal with "men" who have menstrual cycles or who get pregnant. Of course, these so-called "men" are women who want to "identify" as men.
"The President as Commander in Chief is within his authority to determine best practices and common sense policy for the military," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "This lawsuit is a lawless attempt to rescue an Obama-era agenda item which undermines military readiness and unity cohesion. The military is no place for radical social ideological agendas. The singular purpose of the military is for defense. With the madness of North Korea threatening nuclear war, this is no time to divert attention to promote and fund gender confusion," said Staver.
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