Legal Battle Over Trump's Transgender Military Ban

Transgender rights groups have launched a lawsuit against former U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order targeting transgender service members, challenging its constitutionality. The order, criticized by rights groups and lawmakers, aimed to exclude transgender individuals from the military, raising questions about military inclusivity and equal rights.

Transgender rights advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against former U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order targeting transgender service members, launching the first legal challenge to a key aspect of his conservative military agenda.

The lawsuit, filed by GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights in Washington D.C., questions the constitutionality of the order, citing violations of the Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause. The plaintiffs include six transgender service members and two aspirant recruits.

Trump's executive order claimed that gender identity different from birth sex did not meet military standards, sparking criticism from rights groups and lawmakers. During his term, Trump partially froze transgender recruitment, a decision reversed by President Biden in 2021.

(With inputs from agencies.)