Military's Transgender Policy Likely To Go Into Effect As Planned

The Trump administration's new rule barring most transgender people from serving in the military will likely take effect, as planned, next month.

The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled the final injunction blocking the rule should be lifted, which means the new policy can go into effect on April 12. 

This has been a complex legal battle. In August 2017, President Donald Trump announced a ban on transgender people serving "in any capacity in the U.S. Military." Several lawsuits were filed to block that ban, and multiple federal judges granted injunctions. Courts lifted three of the four injunctions while legal challenges worked their way through the justice system. 

The status of this final injunction had been at the center of a legal dispute involving the D.C. Court of Appeals, the Justice Department and opponents of the rule. That is, until now.

The Pentagon approved the new rules earlier this month. According to its memo, most individuals who require hormone treatments or transition surgery won't be allowed to serve after that April 12 date. 

Military service secretaries can grant waivers on a case-by-case basis. And transgender people currently serving can continue to do so if they agree to serve in the gender assigned to them at birth.