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Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to support a lawsuit aiming to block the implementation of President Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military. The brief argues that the executive order is unconstitutional, harms national security, and discriminates against transgender people serving in our nation’s military, including the National Guard in every state.
The amicus brief filed by Attorney General Tong and the coalition of states supports a request for a preliminary injunction filed by a group of current and prospective transgender service members. The plaintiffs filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Court set the date for a hearing on February 18, 2025.
“Everyone who serves and sacrifices for our nation deserves our respect and support, and that includes the thousands of active-duty servicemembers, veterans and members of the National Guard, as well as those who are ready to serve who are transgender,” said Attorney General Tong. “There is no rightful reason for this ban, and I stand with the courageous servicemembers who brought this challenge.”
The coalition argues that President Trump’s executive order purporting to ban transgender people from serving in the military violates the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The coalition also alleges it would "weaken our military, harm state emergency and disaster preparedness, deprive the military of experienced and qualified soldiers during an extremely challenging time for recruitment, and engage in discrimination in violation of state laws protecting transgender individuals’ right to participate fully in society" to bar transgender people from service.
A 2014 study found that approximately 150,000 veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and members of the National Guard or Reserves identified as transgender. The executive order would require the military to discharge transgender members and turn away potential recruits who identify as transgender.
The coalition asserts that the "military has already concluded—twice—following comprehensive reviews that allowing transgender individuals to serve consistent with their gender identity is in the nation’s best interest. Reinstating the ban simply cannot be justified by reference to costs, unit cohesion, or overall readiness."
Joining Attorney General Tong in this brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Trump's Executive Order on Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness states that "expressing a false “gender identity” divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service."
"Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life," says the Order. "A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member."
Under Trump's Executive Order, it is now United States Government policy to establish high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity.
The new policy is inconsistent with the "medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria" and with "shifting pronoun usage or use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s sex."
Why stop there? Unicorns, leprechauns and the tooth fairy are being disrespected, too, Counselor.
Good Lord, how can any sane adult take these children, er, Democrats seriously?