Attorney General Becerra Continues to Defend the Rights of Transgender Individuals in the U.S. Military

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined a multistate amicus brief in Doe v. Trump, continuing the California Department of Justice’s efforts to support legal challenges to President Trump's ban on transgender people openly serving in the U.S. military.

“Once again, California will stand up to President Trump’s discriminatory and regressive ban on transgender individuals serving openly in our military,” said Attorney General Becerra. “This ban is a direct attack on equality for transgender individuals – in this case, targeting qualified, capable, and courageous people who risk their lives to keep us safe. This blind discrimination risks rejecting the best qualified candidates for military service, all while threatening our national security and our national values.”  

The proposed transgender military ban will have a direct impact on California, which is home to more than 130,000 active-duty military personnel, in addition to more than 56,000 members of the National Guard and Reserves.

Attorney General Becerra has successfully defended the rights of transgender individuals seeking to join, or currently serving openly in, the U.S. military. In December 2017, Attorney General Becerra obtained a nationwide injunction protecting transgender Americans serving in the military. California is a co-plaintiff in the case Stockman v. Trump, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In September 2018, a federal court denied the Trump Administration’s motion to dissolve the preliminary injunction secured by California, Equality California, and additional co-plaintiffs in Stockman v. Trump. As a result of the decision, the preliminary injunction currently remains in place, allowing transgender individuals to continue serving in the military.

Previously, Attorney General Becerra joined the Massachusetts Attorney General and 13 other states in filing a multistate amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs in this case.  Attorney General Becerra also joined an amicus brief in support of transgender rights for veterans in the case Fulcher v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, defending the right to health care coverage from the Department of Veterans Affairs for medically necessary care, including sex reassignment surgery.

A copy of the amicus brief is attached to the electronic version of this release here.