OLYMPIA, WA – Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown says President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military service members is discriminatory and undermines state and national security. Brown has joined a coalition of attorneys general in 21 states who filed a brief filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in support of personnel who filed suit seeking to overturn the order.
Among the executive orders that Trump signed last month was one stating that transgender Americans cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service and that the Pentagon must move to change the policy allowing them to serve. U.S. service members who are transgender or otherwise exhibit gender dysphoria are prohibited from military service unless they obtain an exemption, according to an internal Pentagon memo that was made public on Wednesday.
Brown co-authored the amicus brief that says the president’s order “not only violates the Constitution…but it will also weaken our nation’s military, including the National Guard, and undermine the Amici States’ institutions and efforts to protect their communities.”
The brief was filed in Shilling v. Trump, which was brought by lead plaintiff and decorated U.S. Navy Commander Emily Shilling.
The filing claims the president’s action deprives the state’s National Guard units of experienced and qualified soldiers at a time when recruitment is especially challenging. “Trump’s blatantly discriminatory policy is also fundamentally at odds with state laws protecting transgender individuals,” says Brown.
The brief was co-authored by Brown’s office and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. The other states joining are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.