Court Allows Pentagon to Enforce Transgender Military Ban

A federal appeals court has ruled the Pentagon can enforce a ban on most transgender people serving in the U.S. military. The decision is a major victory for the Trump administration. The ruling temporarily blocks a lower court's order that had stopped the ban. That lower court judge had ruled the policy was likely unconstitutional and harmful. The appeals court stated military leaders, not judges, should decide military policy. The legal challenge to the ban will continue in lower courts. However, the Pentagon may now implement the restrictions during that process. The policy generally bans individuals who require medical treatment for gender dysphoria, the distress from a mismatch between one's gender identity and sex assigned at birth. It also requires most troops to serve according to their biological sex at birth. The White House called the ruling "a great win." Advocacy groups for transgender rights vowed to continue their legal fight against the ban.