One of the first actions President Donald Trump took after assuming office was sign an executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.
Just a day later, a lawsuit was filed in federal court to protect six active duty members and two others trying to enlist. Since then, 12 more people have joined the case.
A federal judge on Tuesday granted a win to the plaintiffs by placing a preliminary injunction on President Trump's executive order. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes — who was nominated by former President Joe Biden — said the Trump administration order banning transgender people from the military likely violates their Constitutional rights.
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Army Reserves 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott — a transgender man — is the main plaintiff in the case against the Trump administration. He told Scripps News he and the other plaintiffs were "absolutely thrilled" by Judge Reyes' ruling.
"It has been an absolute breath of fresh air for so many people like me who were facing losing our careers, losing everything that we worked so hard for, and just having such huge implications on our family and on the military as a whole," said Talbott. "So, we are very, very excited with the results of this week's ruling."
Talbott, 31, was named Honor Graduate at basic combat training, is currently the Platoon Leader in the Military Policing Unit, and is scheduled to begin additional leadership training later this year. Under President Trump's executive order, however, Talbott and others would've been subject to what the White House describes as "radical gender ideology" and ultimately kicked out of the military.
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"I think that every service member is, you know, just as honorable, capable, determined as anyone else," said Talbott. "Trans people are no different than the general population of service members when it comes to that idea. I know, certainly, I uphold the military values, the Army values, every day in my personal life, in my professional life, and everything that I do, and I think that that's true of all of our trans service members as well."
President Trump's executive order also states that "the pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion." Talbott, meanwhile, contends that his gender identity does not have a negative impact on the so-called "unit cohesion" and none of his fellow service members view him as someone different.
"Nobody I've served with has had any issue with my being transgender in any way, shape or form," said Talbott. "I have received nothing but tremendous amounts of support and respect from my peers and my leaders."
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"The trans service members who are putting on the uniform every single day are already living proof that that's not a valid argument against our ability to serve," Talbott added. "We have people who are deployed in combat zones as I am speaking who happen to also be transgender. We know what we need medically. It's no different than any other soldier who needs medical care while on a deployment. And we should be treated, again, just the same as every other soldier who has gone through the same training and puts on the uniform and is willing to fight and die for our country."
Watch Scripps News' full interview with Army Reserves 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott in the video player above.
