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A trans military ban with far-reaching consequences

Transgender Military Ban Protest
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Democrat Lawmakers Hold A Rally Against The Trump Administration's Transgender Military Ban.

Members of two leading legal organizations fought against the transgender military ban before and plan on doing it again.


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We are civil rights lawyers who led the fight against the 2017 transgender military ban. Make no mistake: When politicians bar qualified people from serving their country based on identity rather than ability, it threatens hard-won protections far beyond the military. The argument that transgender Americans compromise military effectiveness and unit cohesion - despite clear evidence to the contrary - is similar to arguments used to justify discrimination in the workplace.

Consider the service members we represent in a just-filed challenge to President Trump's new ban. A decorated Navy pilot. A Special Forces captain with a Bronze Star. An intelligence sergeant protecting troops in the field. They've proven themselves under the same rigorous standards as every other service member. Their units rely on their skills and experience. Yet suddenly, they face discharge not because they failed at their duties but because of political winds shifting in Washington. Losing these experienced service members damages military effectiveness and undermines national security. Their units will lose trusted leaders and critical expertise that took years to develop.

But this isn't just about the military. If we accept that identity alone can disqualify someone from service - despite meeting every physical, medical, and performance standard - this same logic risks spreading to other professions. Transgender firefighters, police officers, construction workers, EMTs - any profession with physical standards or safety requirements could become a target for similar discriminatory policies. And once identity-based exclusions take hold, they rarely stop at one group - transgender workers today, lesbian, gay, bisexual people, and women tomorrow.

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Our community knows too well how discrimination in one arena enables discrimination everywhere. When Don't Ask, Don't Tell was in force, it didn't just hurt LGB service members - it reinforced the toxic message that being gay was incompatible with honor, integrity, and service to the country. Its repeal proved that anti-gay prejudice was based on myths, not facts. It helped dismantle barriers to LGBTQ equality across society.

Today's fight over transgender military service is equally pivotal. If bias can override demonstrated competence in the military - where performance standards are crystal clear and unit cohesion depends on judging people by their actions - it sets a dangerous precedent for every workplace in America.

We've already shown once before that banning transgender troops serves no military purpose. Discriminatory policies don't just harm currently serving troops - they signal to an entire generation of potential recruits that the military's values don't align with their own. Today's young Americans, who have grown up learning and working alongside transgender peers, expect to serve in a merit-based force that judges people on their abilities, not their identity.

These stakes go far beyond military readiness. This is about whether we'll allow politicians to resurrect old prejudices in new forms, undermining decades of progress toward workplace equality. The military ban may target transgender troops today. Still, its shadow looms over every sphere of American life - our workplaces, our schools, our public spaces, our very standing as equal members of our society.

When exposed to evidence and truth, discrimination withers under judicial scrutiny. We're ready for this fight again - not just for the transgender Americans who serve with honor, but for everyone who believes that ability, not identity, should determine opportunity.

Jennifer Levi is Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law). Shannon Minter is the Legal Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). Both organizations also led the legal challenge to the transgender military ban during the first Trump administration.

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