PROVIDENCE – Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin joined a multistate coalition of attorneys general opposing the administration’s ban on transgender individuals in the military, Kilmartin announced Monday.
An amicus brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argues that the ban is unconstitutional, against the interest of national defense and harmful to the transgender community at large. The underlying case is Doe v. Trump, which was brought by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
According to the Public Health Law Center, amicus briefs are “documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter. The briefs advise the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that the court might wish to consider.”
“To ban transgender individuals in our military tells them, ‘You are not welcome here’,” said Kilmartin in prepared remarks. “The common thread among all those who serve in our military is their commitment to protect this great nation at home and abroad and to do so with honor, regardless of gender identification. The decision to ban honorable, well-trained, and patriotic service members based on nothing more than their gender identity is undiluted discrimination and therefore indefensible.”
In addition to Rhode Island, states joining in Monday’s brief include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Vermont as well as Washington, D.C.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
