Tag

#LGBTQ

3 incidents

Civil Rights
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Ongoing

Second-Term Transgender Military Ban: Day-One Executive Order

The second-term ban was broader and more immediately disruptive than the first-term version. The 2025 executive order directed the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to implement the policy within 60 days, mandating that transgender service members serve in their birth sex or face discharge. Service members who had been receiving hormone therapy and other gender-affirming medical care under a Biden-era policy would have that care immediately terminated. Legal challenges were filed immediately; courts issued preliminary injunctions in several cases. The policy applied to approximately 15,000 service members.

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Updated April 12, 2019 Civil Rights
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Transgender Military Ban: Exclusion of Transgender Service Members via Tweet

Trump's tweet announcing the transgender military ban was not coordinated with military leadership. The Joint Chiefs issued an unusual public statement saying they would not change policy until they received 'formal guidance.' Multiple federal courts issued injunctions blocking the original ban. After losing court cases, the administration issued a modified 'Mattis plan' that imposed restrictions based on gender dysphoria treatment; it was implemented in 2019 and reversed by Biden in 2021. An estimated 14,700 transgender people were serving in the military.

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transgendermilitarycivil-rightsfirst-termLGBTQ
Updated June 15, 2020 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

First-Term LGBTQ Rollbacks: Transgender Military Ban, Healthcare Protections, Bathroom Guidance

Trump's first executive actions on LGBTQ issues included rescinding a 2016 guidance protecting transgender students' bathroom access in public schools. In July 2017, Trump tweeted the military ban without notifying the Joint Chiefs; the tweet came after DOD had already been studying how to implement transgender service. The administration also reversed Obama-era healthcare anti-discrimination guidance, removed LGBTQ survey questions from the Census and government surveys, and reversed protections for LGBTQ workers in federal contracting. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in June 2020 that Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination covers LGBTQ workers.

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