Supreme Court lets Trump ban transgender people from military

[In It to Win It]

President Donald Trump can proceed with his plan to ban transgender people from the military, including by removing transgender troops currently serving, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The order — delivered over the dissent of the three liberal justices — lifted a lower-court judge’s ruling that had paused the administration’s ban, concluding it was likely unconstitutional and based on distortions of limited research on the subject. The Trump administration had argued that the courts are required to nearly always defer to the military’s determinations about readiness, lethality and unit cohesion.

Neither the majority nor the dissenters provided any reasoning for their positions.

The order, which followed an emergency appeal from the Trump administration, is not a final ruling on the issue, but will remain in place as litigation proceeds.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/06/trump-ban-transgender-troops-scotus-ruling-00331383

[underpants]

1. The courts defer to the military?

Well this is a nice precedent.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. SCOTUS majority is adrift.

They lose their jobs because of their orientation. Harsh career punch.

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. I fucking tried to get people here to watch the YouTube video of Christopher Titus

And the credible election expert that shows earth shattering election fraud by musk, and whoever else helped him.

I got laughed at and hardly anybody paid attention, good luck winning any elections in the future.

[Ms. Toad]

4. Damn.

Not unexpected - but infuriating, nonetheless.

Now they do the dance that I know all too personally - do they appeal with the hope of reversing it, or stop after the Ninth Circuit to avoid making law that is binding for the entire country. Not an easy decision to make.

(My spouse and I faced the same choice when we attempted a second same-sex parent adoption in Ohio. We did appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court (risking making bad law for the state, based on the then current composition of the court which was the most favorable it was expected to be for a while). They denied the appeal, and we decided to leave it there so the bad law at the appellate level was only binding on a few counties.)

[bluestarone]

5. I didn't think this SC could issue another ruling DUMBER than the immunity decision, BUT

They sure as fuck did with today's decision.

[J_William_Ryan]

6. "Neither the majority nor the dissenters provided any reasoning for their positions."

The majority position is devoid of reason – along with facts and evidence; majority positions motivated solely by fear, ignorance, bigotry, and hate. The Trump Court remains on the wrong side of history.

And the next Democratic president will allow transgender Americans into the military.

[unblock]

7. What to do while litigation is pending is typically based on what's the least damaging

There are a number of considerations, including which party is likely to ultimately prevail, but an important one is what's lest damaging if the outcome goes the other way?

Say there's an eminent domain dispute, a state wants to raze my home to run a highway through my property, while the case is pending, it would not make sense for them to be allowed to destroy my house and proceed with construction, because then I lose even if I win the court case.

In this case, the military is being allowed to destroy the careers and lives of all trans people in the military, and in many cases this will be irreversible in practice. How disruptive to have to scramble to build a new life and new career and then if they win, to go back and switch careers again and try to restart a military career, quite possibly not even getting your exact previous job back as it would have been filled by someone else.

This is clearly so much more damaging than to simply have the military hold off on its purge and continue with how things are already working without any apparent problem.

The supremos must think that the military is highly likely to prevail with the ludicrous claim that it is somehow stronger by arbitrarily excluding people who have proven themselves capable and useful but talk about their gender in a way that makes bigots confused or something.

Republicans sure hate Americans and freedom.

[UTUSN]

8. Another "temporary pending appeal" thingy. I'm 78, can the ball get rolling?!

[Runningdawg]

9. The MAGA crowd over at Stars and Stripes gleefully pointed out women are next.

[k_buddy762]

10. Doesn't this just kick it back to the lower court?

Where it still needs to be litigated?