Six servicemembers challenge Trump's transgender military executive order

The law is very clear that the government can’t base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people,

Shannon Minter, of the NCLR, said

Removing qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced personnel who fill key positions and can’t be easily replaced, putting the burden on our fellow soldiers left behind,

Cole said in a statement released by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law).

Rather than being based on any legitimate governmental purpose, the ban reflects animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status,

the suit claims

There’s nothing about being transgender that makes me better or worse than any other soldier I serve alongside,

Herrero said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit

Recently, however, the Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion,

the order states

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,

it states

Telling us that we can’t be heroes helps to stigmatize us and make us seem like less,

King said

If you are trans in the military you are reliant on chemicals and things that you can never count on in combat. You are not deployable,

he said

I don’t think you can shove people back in the dark after they have felt the light on their skin,

she said

It slams the door on qualified patriots who meet every standard and want nothing more than to serve their country, simply to appease a political agenda,

Jennifer Levi, an attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said in a written statement

It has been my dream and my goal to serve my country for as long as I can remember,

Talbott said in a written statement

President Trump’s repeated targeting of transgender service members is a stain on our military, one that strikes at the very heart of military standards and core American values,

according to Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which filed the lawsuit with GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders on behalf of the six service members

The readiness and physical capabilities of transgender service members is not different from that of other service members,

SPARTA said

We have been here before and seven years ago were able to successfully block the earlier administration’s effort to prevent patriotic, talented Americans from serving their country,

Lambda Legal Counsel Sasha Buchert said

Transgender Americans have served openly and honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces for nearly a decade,

said SPARTA Pride, which represents trans Americans in the military

Left unchecked it could have ripples across all sectors of society,

Minter said

Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,

according to Trump’s order

Were the prohibition on military service by transgender individuals to be implemented, Lieutenant Talbott would lose the career he has spent years of his life fighting to join, after finally earning his commission, and would be unable to continue to serve the United States people as a member of the military,

according to the complaint

Thousands of transgender troops are currently serving, and are fully qualified for the positions in which they serve,

filling critical roles in combat arms, aviation, nuclear engineering, law enforcement, and military intelligence, among other fields, the group shared in a statement with The Independent

Additionally, Lieutenant Talbott would lose his income and access to benefits afforded to military members and their families,

the lawsuit states