District judge in Seattle rules military must accept trans troops

Blaze:

A judge in Tacoma, Washington — roughly 2,800 miles from Washington, D.C. — issued an injunction against the ban on trans-identifying members of the military, a ban that was ordered by the commander in chief, President Donald Trump, and that the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, then tried to implement.

On Thursday, Judge Benjamin Settle — a George W. Bush appointee and a former captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps — determined that Trump's order discriminated against the seven plaintiffs, all of whom are trans-identifying members of the U.S. Armed Forces. They are led by U.S. Navy Cmdr. Emily “Hawking” Shilling, a 42-year-old man pretending to be a woman.

"The government has … provided no evidence supporting the conclusion that military readiness, unit cohesion, lethality, or any of the other touchstone phrases long used to exclude various groups from service have in fact been adversely impacted by open transgender service," Settle wrote in a 65-page opinion.

"The government’s arguments are not persuasive, and it is not an especially close question on this record."

While the government asked Settle to limit any injunction to just the plaintiffs, Settle declined, claiming that district courts have "considerable discretion in ordering an appropriate equitable remedy."

"This is the rare case that warrants a nationwide injunction," Settle insisted.
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Buchert's comments focused mainly on the physical abilities of trans-identifying service members, and men pretending to be women will likely pass physical fitness standards. However, such remarks sidestep the main arguments made in Trump's EO against trans-identifying service members, which questioned their mental well-being and "honor."

"Expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life," the EO signed back in January stated.

"A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member."
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When I was in the Marine Corps, showers and toilets were in an open area with literally no privacy.  The women Marines were in separate areas completely.  The main interaction with them was with office workers.  The Marine men who worked in offices were usually those who could not meet the physical standards required of Marines.  I am pretty sure that there were no trans Marines back then.  I suspect that if there were any, they would be considered a distraction from the job.

I don't think this district judge's arguments are persuasive.