Transgender Service Members Left in Uncertainty After Trump’s Military Ban – TIME
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Excerpt:
When Kate Cole, a 34-year-old U.S. Army Sergeant First Class and transgender woman, eventually retires from the military, she has dreams of moving from California to Colorado to work as a climbing guide. But right now, she only wants one thing: to be allowed to serve her country.
“I enjoy the work I do. I like working with the people I work with. The Army is my community,” says Cole, one of six trans service members who are suing the Trump Administration for its trans military ban, an Executive Order announced on January 27 that prohibits transgender troops from enlisting and serving openly in the military. “It’s my life.”
While the way the Department of Defense would implement the ban is unclear, the Executive Order would cut Cole and other trans service members from their jobs.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) filed a federal lawsuit on January 28 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Trump Administration in response to the order, saying the ban violates equal protection.