Trump’s Transgender Military Ban Remains Blocked by Injunction

D.C. Federal
District Court Judge Confirms Injunction in Doe v. Trump Remains in Place
Pending Resolution of Appeals Process

Washington, D.C.— D.C. Federal District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly today confirmed
that the preliminary injunction she ordered blocking implementation of Trump’s
transgender military ban remains in place pending full resolution of the
appeals process in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s
ruling rebukes the Trump administration’s
claim that it is free to move forward with enforcement of Trump’s ban with
no further legal barriers.

“The Trump administration cannot circumvent the
judicial process just to fast track its baseless, unfair ban on transgender
servicemembers,” said GLBTQ Legal
Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer
Levi. “The dedicated transgender troops who show up every day to do their
duty and serve their country deserve justice, and that includes requiring this
administration to follow the ordinary rules of judicial process.”

National
Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Legal Director Shannon Minter explained, “Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling today
makes crystal clear that her order enjoining the ban from going into effect
remains in place.  As a result, the
government may not take any steps to institute a ban on transgender troops.”

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of
Appeals issued a January 4 unsigned ruling that the district court erred in
concluding that there was no difference between the ban President Trump
announced in August 2017 and the recommended policy Secretary Mattis issued in
February 2018. However, the D.C. Circuit also issued an order that its decision
would not become final until the appeals process had fully run its course.
Plaintiffs still have time to seek rehearing of the panel decision and, as a
result, the appeals process has not concluded. Today’s notice issued by Judge
Kollar-Kotelly stated that the Trump administration may not take steps to
change the status quo while the preliminary injunction remains in place.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the first
preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s transgender military ban in October
2017 in Doe v. Trump. NCLR and GLAD have been at the center
of the legal fight challenging the ban since filing Doe on August 9, 2017.