A federal judge has upheld an injunction that prevents the implementation of President Donald Trump's memo barring transgender troops from serving in the military.
The memo instructs the Pentagon to implement a policy that would block some transgender people who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria from military service.
It stated that transgender individuals with gender dysphoria may only be allowed to serve if they can demonstrate that they have been stable for 36 months. Those who have transitioned to the opposite sex will be considered "ineligible" for service, but they could obtain individual waivers that would allow them to join the military.
Trump's proposed ban on transgender service members has been blocked by courts last year following lawsuits from several civil rights organizations and some transgender tropps.
The Justice Department has asked U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman to lift the injunction against the ban, citing changes that would allow some transgender troops to join the military in limited cases.
Pechman, however, upheld the injunction on Friday, saying the proposed changes were not really different from the initial policy but "instead threaten the very same violations" that resulted in the injunction.
The Pentagon opened enlisting to transgender individuals on Jan. 1 after four federal judges, including Pechman, blocked Trump's order rescinding an Obama-era policy that allowed transgenders to serve in the military openly.
After conducting a review on the issue, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recommended blocking transgender individuals with gender dysphoria with limited exceptions. On March 23, Trump issued a memo authorizing Mattis to implement policies pertaining to gender dysphoria.
Pechman noted that there was not enough time to determine whether the new policy is discriminatory since the changes were only announced last month. She said that the injunction will remain in place as the matter proceeds to trial.
"Because transgender people have long been subjected to systemic oppression and forced to live in silence, they are a protected class. Therefore, any attempt to exclude them from military service will be looked at with the highest level of care," she stated, as reported by the Associated Press.
The judge further noted that the government's explanation for the ban on transgender troops sounded similar to "justifications offered in the past to support the military's exclusion and segregation of African American service members, its 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy, and its policy preventing women from serving in combat roles," Pechman opined.
Pechman said that the government should demonstrate that the policy "was sincerely motivated by compelling interests, rather than by prejudice or stereotype, and that it is narrowly tailored to achieve those interests."
