Judge Clears Way For Transgender Recruits In US Military

The move will be seen as a blow to President Donald Trump, who in July sent out three tweets saying that transgender troops could not serve “in any capacity” in the military. Those tweets, later followed by a formal White House memorandum, set off a roar of protest — with several service members and rights groups quick to sue. Last week, the Justice Department asked a federal court to delay the January 1 deadline while the legal battle plays out, but it denied the motion. “The court will not stay its preliminary injunction pending defendants’ appeal,” US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote. Under a new policy originally announced last year by the Obama administration, the Pentagon was first supposed to start accepting transgender recruits on July 1 this year, but Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis pushed that back by six months. AFP]]>