A 5-4 Supreme Court vote permitted the trans military ban to officially go into effect.
The order was approved although Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan all dissented. This will allow the ban to be enforced while the case moves through the lower courts, according to the
New York Times. “Capt. Emma Shinn, U.S. Marine Corps, is in the process of returning to active duty currently and is disappointed in today’s ruling,” said local trans advocate and active trans military personal Emma Shinn. “Her decades of service as a U.S. Marine officer and proven record in combat stand as evidence that transgender Americans are capable, willing, and ready to serve our nation.”
There was also national outrage from the trans and queer community over the ruling.
“In declining to hear [challenges to the ban], the Supreme Court saw through the administration’s contrived efforts to gin up a national crisis,” said GLAD Transgender Rights Project director Jennifer Levi in
a statement. “Unfortunately, the Court’s stay of the lower courts’ preliminary orders means that courageous transgender service members will face discharges while challenges to the ban go forward. The Trump administration’s cruel obsession with ridding our military of dedicated and capable service members because they happen to be transgender defies reason and cannot survive legal review.” What this officially means for trans active service members remains to be seen, but many are choosing now as the time to protest, have their voices heard, and take action.
