US
Government Asks For Delay On Integrating Transgender Recruits Into Military
No featured image available
The federal government is asking for a judge to delay the mandate to start accepting transgender recruits into the military, which is set to take effect on January 1.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a ruling last Tuesday ordering the Pentagon to accept transgender recruits on January 1, 2018, but the government is now appealing this ruling and asking for an emergency stay while the appeal is underway, The Associated Press reports.
The government wants Kollar-Kotelly to make a ruling on the delay request by December 11. Ideally, the government wants a delay until the Pentagon can complete a study on transgender individuals in the military, which will then determine policies for new recruits.
“Compelling the military to implement a new accessions policy while it is simultaneously completing a comprehensive study of military service by transgender individuals that may soon result in the adoption of different accessions standards would waste significant military resources and sow unnecessary confusion among service members and applicants,” the Department of Justice’s motion states, according to Politico.
Kollar-Kotelly stated last Tuesday that a preliminary injunction does in fact apply to the Trump administration’s attempt to keep new transgender recruits out of the military.
The Pentagon under the Obama administration repealed the ban on transgenders serving openly in the military in June 2016 and set in motion plans to allow transgender individuals to join the armed forces in mid-2017.
But in July 2017, Trump wrote a series of tweets saying he would not allow transgenders to serve, citing disruption to the military and high costs. An August directive to Secretary of Defense James Mattis prevents transgenders from joining the military unless Mattis specifically recommends otherwise. The directive also prevents any Department of Defense resources from being used to fund sex-reassignment surgery. The one exception for this rule is if an individual is already undergoing treatment.
Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter
Send tips to [email protected].
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].