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FIVE TRANSGENDER WOMEN in the US military are suing President Donald Trump and the Pentagon over Trump’s recent announcement he would reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in uniform.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday, the five plaintiffs from the Air Force, Coast Guard and the Army said they faced uncertainty about their futures, including whether they would be fired or lose post-military and retirement benefits.
In a series of three tweets last month, Trump upended an Obama-era policy of more than a year that allowed transgender troops to serve openly.
His announcement came with little or no coordination with the Pentagon and landed while Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was on vacation, leaving the astonished department scrambling to come up with a coherent response.
The lawsuit was filed against Trump, Mattis and various other senior military officials by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLAAD, a legal advocacy group.
All the unidentified “Jane Doe” plaintiffs were previously men who have transitioned to being female.
“Trump’s directive to exclude transgender people from military service has created a tidal wave of harms that have already been felt throughout our armed services,” NCLR legal director Shannon Minter said.
“Transgender service members have been blindsided by this shift and are scrambling to deal with what it means for their futures and their families.”
The lawsuit asserts that reinstating the transgender ban is unconstitutional.
The number of transgender troops among America’s 1.3 million active duty service members is small, with estimates ranging from between 1,320 and 15,000.
On 30 June, 2016, then defense secretary Ash Carter said the military could no longer discharge or deny reenlistment to troops based solely on their gender identity.
That means transgender troops who were encouraged to come out under one administration now face getting booted under another — a potential legal quagmire for the Pentagon.
In the two weeks since Trump’s tweets, the White House has still not provided the Pentagon with clear directives on how it should implement a transgender ban, so the current policy remains in place for now.
A Pentagon spokesman said he could not comment on pending litigation.
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Know two with long covid. No joke, totally knocked both. Both lads one mid 30s other mid 50s.
Hope this young lady returns to 100%
@Tom Ripley: the ‘open everything’ crowd wont like to read this.
Sounds very like those who suffer with autoimmune diseases like lupus, MS, Crohn’s disease, UC, AIH, Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, PSC, PBC and many others. The fatigue, the flares, lack of empathy from employers etc.
@Serge the llama: I have Psoriatic arthritis but luckily my medication I has worked wonders for me and I’m able to do most of the things I want to do. But you’re right, before I was diagnosed and could barely walk down the stairs, the lack of understanding was staggering.
@Serge the llama: many of those illnesses are starting to be linked to underlying #MCAS. Could count on 1 hand the Drs with MCAS or MC awareness.
Good article, well said Eilish, I hope you make a full recovery very soon and that your comments are heeded.
Most of us can appreciate nurses and the work they do. That said, is it reasonable to elevate them alone when about 3 times as many of their colleagues have the same issues and remain silent, I’m not questioning that some are seriously ill, so are many other people. I don’t believe anyone should be penalised for being ill and that there should maybe arrangements made for all healthcare workers who became ill as a nature of their work, not just nurses alone.
Maybe everyone could clap for them again?
@cryptodon: that was the UK not Ireland.
@Eamonn Martin: obvious Trolling
There is no question about it anyone who is in this situation should not have to worry about getting paid.they should be paid in full and not have sick pay reduced or taken into account later when they return to work
I’m a firefighter and have been out of work with long covid since December and can relate to all the issues in the article. Unfortunately for everyone in this 2 tier society if you don’t have private health insurance you can’t access post covid clinics. The HSE needs to step up now and help public patients get back to work. The whole scenario is extremely frustrating.
@Eamonn Martin: Hope you never get it so.
@Eamonn Martin: are u ready for the backlash sir :), enjoy
COVID-19 Hyperinflammation & Post-Covid-19 Illness may be linked to newly recognised Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.
See a paper here
@Thomas O’ Donnell: So do I Tommy. If I do, I hope I don’t die or suffer long effects. Doesn’t mean the world should be on hold because of that tiny risk though.
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have your say