Gender Justice League is proud to be a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s ban on military service by Trans people. The lawsuit—brought in response to the administration’s executive order—was filed by Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign today in the U.S. District Court for The Western Washington District. 

Gender Justice League joined with 7 active duty service members in the lawsuit. The other plaintiffs include: 

• Commander Emily “Hawking” Shilling, United States Navy, with 19 years of service.
• Commander Blake Dremann, United States Navy, with 19 years of service.
• Lieutenant Commander Geirid Morgan, United States Navy, with 14 years of service. 
• Sergeant First Class Cathrine “Katie” Schmid, United States Army, with 20 years of service. 
• Sergeant First Class Jane Doe, United States Army, with 17 years of service.
• Staff Sergeant Videl Leins, United States Air Force, with 16 years of service. 
• Mr. Matthew Medina, a transgender person seeking to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. 

“When the federal government sets a precedent justifying discrimination, it opens up precedents and justification for others—individual employers, federal agencies, and schools—to discriminate against us as well,” said Sarah Moran, Board Chair of Gender Justice League. “There is also a well-documented relationship between anti-Trans policies and the interpersonal violence and discrimination faced by Trans people.”

For Trans people and many American communities, the relationship with the U.S. military is complex and often fraught. For many in our community, the military represents devastating conflict, colonization, war, and imperialism. Still, for many others, the military is seen as a path to opportunity, a career, and employment; especially for a community facing severe barriers to financial stability. The United States military is the largest employer of Transgender people in the country. Gender Justice League is clear: We support Trans peoples’ right to employment based on merit and will fight unconstitutional discrimination no matter where we find it. 

“Gender Justice League is honored to stand with the thousands of brave Trans service members in fighting for a U.S. military that bases employment on merit, qualifications, and that does not discriminate simply on the basis of who people are,” said Danni Askini, Executive Director of Gender Justice League. “For the last 10 years, tens of thousands of Transgender people have served our country honorably in all branches in nearly all fields. This executive order harms our military’s retention, recruitment, and deprives us of highly trained service members when we need them most.” 

Through this administration and beyond, Gender Justice League will always continue our advocacy across all levels of government—local, state, and federal—to fight for fair employment, safe schools, access to life-saving medically necessary healthcare, and accurate identity documents for TwoSpirit, Trans, and Gender Diverse people in all areas of life.

Learn more and follow the case on Lambda Legal’s website here. 

“This ban not only wrongfully prevents patriotic, talented Americans from serving, it also compromises the safety and security of our country,” said Sasha Buchert, Counsel and Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project Director, Lambda Legal. “Thousands of current service members are transgender, and many have been serving courageously and successfully in the U.S. military. Once again attacking a vulnerable population based on bias, political opportunism and demonstrably untrue ‘alternative facts,’ President Trump is seeking to deny courageous transgender people the opportunity to serve our country. He’s got to get through us first.”  

“The assertion that transgender service members like myself are inherently untrustworthy or lack honor is an insult to all who have dedicated their lives to defending this country,” said Commander Emily Shilling, speaking in her personal capacity and whose views and opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Navy or Department of Defense. “My nearly two decades of service as a naval aviator and test pilot, routinely selected for the most challenging leadership roles, with 60 combat missions and over 1,700 flight hours in high-performance jets, speaks for itself. I have been selected for promotion and ranked number one in my community for merit. Not because of my identity, our boards are deliberately blind to such things, but because my performance and leadership set me apart. What greater proof of merit is required? This ban is not about readiness or cohesion, and it is certainly not about merit. It is about exclusion and betrayal, purposely targeting those of us who volunteered to serve, simply for having the courage and integrity to live our truth.”

“I am one of thousands of transgender service members currently serving honorably on active duty in the US military,” said Geirid Morgan, speaking in her personal capacity and whose views and opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Navy or Department of Defense. “Transgender Americans who volunteer to serve in the Armed Forces meet the same standards and requirements to serve as any other warfighter and we have earned our place in the military. Our Nation has invested billions of dollars into our military training and experience, and we have invested years of our lives and countless hours of hard work in service to this Nation. I am truly hopeful that our case filing will ensure that those investments don’t go to waste. Our dedication and our sacrifice, as well as that of our families, is not worth any less to the military or the American people.”

“This Executive Order is nothing more than just a discriminatory attack against transgender individuals like myself and many others to paint us as the problem in today’s world and keep everyone else distracted from the actual problems at hand like  mental health, veteran benefits and many more,” said Matthew Medina, speaking in his personal capacity and whose views and opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Navy or Department of Defense. “I cannot stand for this blatant exploitation of human rights to go on any further and I will not be shamed for my identity. I am human first like everyone else and should only be seen for my humanity.”

“I’ve served my country for 20 years. I’ve deployed across half the world, led Soldiers in all kinds of weather and fought in every domain,” said Cathrine Schmid, speaking in her personal capacity and whose views and opinions are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Navy or Department of Defense. “The Army invested in my skills, awarded my performance, and entrusted me to uphold the values of our noble profession. I ask nothing more than to continue that mission. Let the DoD prove its dedication to merit and performance over arbitrary measures like the fact that I’m trans, and let me serve.”