A year after Trump said he’d ban trans people from the military, how successful has he been?

One year ago today, Trump tweeted that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military.

Since POTUS’ neurotic tweet, the trans military ban has failed at every level – state and federal. A video timeline is available for viewing to give additional background on the case’s milestones.

The Karnoski v. Trump lawsuit originally filed by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN was aimed at opposing this president’s discriminatory policy in the courts, on the streets and in the media.

As of today, seven federal courts – including, most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – have barred the Trump-Pence Administration from implementing the ban.

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Since the president’s initial tweets, a diverse range of voices have opposed banning transgender people from serving in the military. 33 former national security experts and military leaders, the American Medical Association and the NAACP all filed briefs in support the cases filed to halt the Trump-Pence ban.

“After the tweetban was issued, Lambda Legal and Outserve-SLDN flew into action. We promised we would take action if the policy was enacted and we did,” said Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Sasha Buchert.

Buchert added, “Today, I think it’s also important to underscore another anniversary; that day just over two years ago when the ban on open transgender military service was lifted.”

She then summarized, “The only thing that has happened as a result of allowing open transgender military service is that transgender service members are serving our country with honor, dignity and distinction.”

“From day one of this administration, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have sought to license discrimination against the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people,” said HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride.

McBride added, “Donald Trump and Mike Pence’s despicable attempt to mandate discrimination in our military, America’s largest employer, is part of a broader effort to push transgender people back into the shadows and out of public life.”

Trump has a pattern when it comes to losing. He just keeps trying to cram it down our throats in new incarnations, hoping we don’t notice his boundless stupidity for the rule of law and order.

Unfortunately for him and his cronies, Americans are not buying it. Neither is the military.

“Over the last year, transgender service members continue to prove detractors wrong, serve with honor, and help the mission succeed,” President of SPARTA, Blake Dremann, told LGBTQ Nation.

“I am privileged to serve alongside them,” Dremann added. “The country should be proud of such dedication during an era where so few choose this life. They are here to stay, stronger than ever.”

Dremann continued, “Through the turbulence, transgender service members have put on their uniforms, laced up their boots, and unleashed their most powerful weapon: commitment to their oath of service.”

A few days ago, the federal court rejected Trump’s latest attempt to push through a trans military ban.

“The district court’s December 11, 2017 preliminary injunction preserves the status quo, allowing transgender service members to serve in the military in their preferred gender and receive transition-related care,” the decision said.

LGBTQ Nation‘s Alex Bollinger wrote: “Five votes to lift the injunction would be necessary. Kennedy has been a friend to LGBTQ cases in the past, and an eight-judge Supreme Court would need one of the liberal judges to vote to lift the injunction to get five votes, which is unlikely.”

However, with Kennedy’s looming retirement from the bench and the Supreme Court inching ever-closer to the right, the protection of LGBTQ rights in any capacity is no longer foolproof.

The case is on track to go to trial in April 2019.

“Every court ruling has been consistent and unequivocal: the ban on transgender military service is discrimination, no matter how it’s phrased and no matter the myriad ways the administration has tried to cloak its intent,” OutServe-SLDN Legal Director Peter Perkowski said.

“The administration has failed to come up with any adequate rationale for the president’s ill-conceived tweets of last July that justifies their blatant discriminatory nature, and we are confident it never will,” he added.

Today, the hashtags #TransMilitaryBan and #TransBanTweetUp are trending on Twitter and we’ve selected a few of our favorite posts below.

https://twitter.com/GLADLaw/status/1022526414485168129