Carson joins congressmen urging Trump to reverse trans service member ban

<p>President Donald Trump is&nbsp;<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/aclu-sues-trump-transgender-military-ban-49466771 " target="_blank">facing multiple lawsuits</a>&nbsp;over his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/trump-transgender-people-can-no-longer-be-in-us-military/" target="_blank">ban on transgender people</a>&nbsp;in the military, which has faced bipartisan criticism in Congress.</p><p>Trump has directed the military to reverse an Obama-era policy that allowed transgender people to serve openly in the military. It would have gone into effect this year.</p><p>It also said service members couldn&#39;t be discharged or denied re-enlistment just because of their gender identity.</p><p>In late July, Trump released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsy.com/stories/trump-transgender-people-can-no-longer-be-in-us-military/" target="_blank">series of tweets&nbsp;</a>saying he would not allow transgender individuals to serve in the U.S. military &quot;in any capacity.&quot; A month later, the White House&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/08/25/presidential-memorandum-secretary-defense-and-secretary-homeland" target="_blank">put out a memo</a>&nbsp;with guidelines on what that ban would look like.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/white-house-releases-guidelines-for-transgender-military-ban/">White House Releases Guidelines For Trump's Transgender Military Ban</a></b></p><p>On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government on behalf of several transgender individuals serving in the military. They say the ban is a discriminatory violation of their constitutional rights to equal treatment and due process.</p><p>Basically, the lawsuit argues kicking transgender people out of the military breaks the Constitution&#39;s mandate that they be treated the same as everyone else under the law.</p><p>Trump did try to legally justify his ban by arguing transgender service members place a &quot;tremendous&quot; burden in medical costs on the military.</p><p>But&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1530.html" target="_blank">a RAND study</a>&nbsp;suggests that&#39;s not quite true. It found the Department of Defense only spent about one-hundredth of a percent of its total budget on gender-related care for transgender service members.</p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/07/27/how-much-does-the-u-s-military-actually-spend-on-transgender-soldiers/#1e0cef03ca6e" target="_blank">Forbes later reported</a>&nbsp;the military spends about 10 times that amount on erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra.</p><p>This isn&#39;t the only lawsuit Trump is facing due to the ban. Lambda Legal also filed a suit Monday on behalf of two transgender people who want to join the military and one current member who hopes to become an officer.</p><p>And five other transgender service members sued the administration in early August, before the specifics of the ban were laid out. The White House has said it won&#39;t comment on pending litigation.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/what-happens-during-a-government-shutdown/">Here&#039;s What Actually Shuts Down During A Government Shutdown</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/trump-s-travel-ban-is-up-for-court-review-again/">Trump Administration Goes To Court Over Its Definition Of &#039;Bona Fide&#039;</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/leaked-emails-reportedly-reveal-trump-russia-business-ties/">Emails Reportedly Show Trump&#039;s Business Allies Reaching Out To Moscow</a></li></ul>