Transgender

New Pentagon policy undercuts trans troops' ability to ask to stay in army

The Pentagon has rolled out a new policy that will severely undercut the ability for transgender troops who have been banned from the armed forces by the Trump administration to turn to boards of their peers to argue for their right to stay in the military, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. If military separation boards decide to allow transgender service members to remain in uniform, commanders can override that decision, according to an Oct 8 memo to all the services from the Pentagon's undersecretary for personnel and readiness, Anthony Tata. That breaks with longstanding policy that boards act independently. It is the Pentagon's latest step to drive transgender troops out of the armed forces following an executive order from President Donald Trump. He and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have targeted diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in what they say is an effort to make the military more lethal. The adminstration's policies have faced pushback in the .

King Charles III dedicates Britain's 1st national memorial to LGBTQ+ troops

King Charles III on Monday dedicated Britain's first national memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops, 25 years after the UK ended a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces. The king, who is the ceremonial head of the armed forces, laid flowers at the monument in the National Memorial Arboretum in central England at a service attended by scores of serving troops and veterans. The sculpture takes the form of a crumpled bronze letter bearing words from personnel who were affected by the ban. Between 1967 and 2000, soldiers, sailors and air force personnel who were or were thought to be gay or transgender were labelled unfit to serve and dismissed or discharged from the forces. Some were stripped of medals or lost their pension rights, and many struggled with the stigma for decades. The government lifted the ban after a 1999 ruling from the European Court of Human Rights. In 2023 then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak formally apologised for what he called an appalling .

Trump asks SC to let him enforce transgender, nonbinary passport policy

President Donald Trump's administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to let it enforce a passport policy for transgender and nonbinary people that requires male or female sex designations based on birth certificates. The Justice Department appealed a lower-court order allowing people use the gender or X identification marker that lines up with their gender identity. It's the latest in a series of emergency appeals from the Trump administration, many of which have resulted in victories amid litigation, including on banning transgender people from the military. The government argues it can't be required to use sex designations it considers inaccurate on official documents. The plaintiffs, meanwhile, say the policy violates the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans. The State Department changed its passport rules after Trump, a Republican, handed down an executive order in January declaring the United States would recognize two sexes, male and female," based on what it ..

Bihar govt sets up board to protect transgender community's rights

The Bihar government has constituted a welfare board to protect the rights of the transgender community and take measures for their social development and empowerment, an official said on Friday. A notification for the constitution of the 'Bihar Rajya Kinnar Kalyan Board' was issued by the Social Welfare Department, she said. Bihar Social Welfare Minister Madan Sahni has been made the chairman of the 28-member panel, the official said. The department has constituted the 'Bihar Rajya Kinnar Kalyan Board' to protect the rights of the transgender community and take measures for their social development and empowerment. The board has seven members belonging to the transgender community," Social Welfare Department Secretary Bandana Preyashi told PTI. The measures for the social development of the transgender community will be implemented and monitored by the board, she said. The state government also wants to provide them education and vocational training to prepare them for respectabl

Delhi govt notifies new rules to protect rights of transgender persons

The Delhi government has notified rules for the protection of transgenders' rights, paving the way for the issuance of identity cards to them and forming a welfare board to ensure their well-being, officials said on Wednesday. A recent notification issued by the Social Welfare Department of the government said that in exercise of powers conferred on him, Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has made the Delhi Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2025. The district magistrates (DMs) concerned will issue a certificate of identity for a transgender person within 30 days of receipt of a duly filled-in application, said the notification. A Transgender Welfare Empowerment Board is to be constituted by the Delhi government. It will consist of the social welfare minister as its ex officio chairman, it said. The Board will also have as its members a representative each from the home, finance, planning, law, labour, health, higher education, education and revenue departments, among othe

After UPenn ban, US top court agrees to hear case on transgender athletes

The US Supreme Court will review bans from West Virginia and Idaho, marking its first ruling on transgender participation in girls' and women's sports

US Supreme Court upholds Tennessee law banning youth transgender care

The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative justices, decided that the ban does not violate the US

Kerala HC allows trans couple to be named as 'parents' on birth certificate

Kerala High Court directs birth certificate of trans couple's child to list both as 'parents', replacing 'mother' and 'father' to uphold rights and inclusivity

Pentagon orders removal of up to 1,000 transgender troops from military

The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify, under a new directive issued Thursday. Buoyed by Tuesday's Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals in the military, the Defence Department will then begin going through medical records to identify others who haven't come forward. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who issued the latest memo, made his views clear after the court's decision. "No More Trans @ DoD," Hegseth wrote in a post on X. Earlier in the day, before the court acted, Hegseth was more blunt, telling a conference that his department is leaving wokeness and weakness behind. "No more pronouns," he told a special operations forces conference in Tampa. Department officials have said it's difficult to determine exactly how many transgender service members there are, but medical records will show th

Trump urges US Supreme Court to reinstate transgender military service ban

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. The high court filing follows a brief order from a federal appeals court that kept in place a court order blocking the policy nationwide. President Donald Trump signed an executive order a week into his term that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life and is harmful to military readiness. In response, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service. But in March, US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory, and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and ...

UK court defines 'woman' as biological; JK Rowling, others applaud

UK court rules 'woman' means biological female under law; JK Rowling, Martina Navratilova, and others hail decision amid fierce debate over trans rights

Court orders Trump admin to restore Maine funds over 'gender bias law'

A US District Court judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal aid to Maine to comply with requirements under a law aimed at prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education. District Court Judge John Woodcock issued a temporary restraining order on Friday in a case brought by the state of Maine against the US Department of Agriculture. An e-mail message seeking comment was sent Saturday to the Agriculture Department. At issue was the freezing of federal funds to Maine for certain administrative and technological functions in the state's schools. A letter from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained the decision stemmed from a disagreement between the state and federal governments over whether Maine was complying with Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. Soon after the secretary's letter was sent, Maine's Department of Education could not access several sources of federal funds for a state nutrition program, according

Transgender teens fight back Trump's ban on participation in girls' sports

Parker Tirrell, 16, enjoys her art classes, scrolling on TikTok and working at her new job at a pet store. But most of all, the transgender teen loves playing soccer. Until last year, that wasn't a problem. I was just living my life like any normal person, said Tirrell, who has played since she was 4. I was accepted. I had a nice, steady team that I played on all the time. Then came a cascade of obstacles, starting with a state ban on transgender girls in girls' sports, and most recently President Donald Trump's Feb. 5 executive order, Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports." Now, life is anything but normal. Tirrell, along with Iris Turmelle, 15, another transgender girl, are the first to challenge Trump's order, six months after suing their own state over its ban and getting a court order allowing them to play. I just feel like I'm being singled out right now by lawmakers and Trump and just the whole legislative system for something that I can't control, Tirrell told The Associated P

Transgender Americans aim to block Donald Trump's passport policy change

When Ash Lazarus Orr went to renew his passport in early January, the transgender organiser figured it would be relatively routine. But more than two months on, Orr is waiting to get a new passport with a name change and a sex designation reflecting who he is. The delay has prevented him from travelling overseas to receive gender-affirming care this month in Ireland since he refuses to get a passport that lists an inaccurate sex designation. Orr blames the delay on President Donald Trump, who on the day he took office issued an executive order banning the use of the X marker as well as the changing of gender markers. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. This is preventing me from having an accurate identification and the freedom to move about the country as well as internationally, said Orr, who is among seven plaintiffs five transgender Americans and two nonbinary plaintiffs

Federal judge halts Trump admin's ban on transgender military service

A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender people from military service on Tuesday U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump's order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. She delayed her order by three days to give the administration time to appeal. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for six transgender people who are active-duty service members and two others seeking to join the military. On January 27, Trump signed an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members "conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life and is harmful to military readiness. In response to the order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies people with gender dysphoria from military service. Gender dysphoria is

India's first three transgender clinics close after USAID funding freeze

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid in January pending a review to ensure all projects funded with U.S. taxpayer money are aligned with his "America First" policy

Pentagon says transgender troops must meet warfighting need to serve

The Pentagon revealed the specifics of its new transgender troop policy in a court filing Wednesday that says any service member or recruit who has been diagnosed with or treated for gender dysphoria is disqualified from serving unless they can prove they meet a specific warfighting need and adhere to severe restrictions on their day-to-day behavior. The policy memo was included in the latest court filing in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order against transgender military service, one of many hot-button issues the president made a priority to address on his first days in office. Like the executive order, the policy filed Wednesday suggests that the lethality and integrity of the military is inconsistent with what transgender personnel go through as they transition to the gender they identify with, and issues an edict that gender is immutable, unchanging during a person's life." The policy provides two exceptions if transgender personnel who seek to enlis

Judge pauses Trump order restricting gender-affirming care for trans youth

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's recent executive order aimed at restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19. The judge's ruling came after a lawsuit was filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president's order. A national group for family of LGBTQ+ people and a doctors organisation are also plaintiffs in the court challenge, one of many lawsuits opposing a slew of executive orders Trump has issued as he seeks to reverse the policies of former President Joe Biden. Judge Brendan Hurson, who was nominated by Biden, granted the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order following a hearing in federal court in Baltimore. The ruling essentially puts Trump's directive on hold while the case proceeds. Trump's executive order "seems to deny that this population even exists, or deserves to exist," .

Trump makes passport applications more complex for transgender Americans

The day after President Donald Trump returned to office, Lisa Suhay took her 21-year-old daughter, Mellow, to a passport office in Norfolk, Virginia, where they live. Getting a passport for Mellow, who is transgender, was urgent. In an executive order Trump signed the night before, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. The framing is in line with many conservatives' views but at odds with major medical groups and policies under former President Joe Biden. Her family wants Mellow to be able to leave the country if things became unbearable for transgender people in the US as the federal government increasingly moves not to recognise them. If the worst was to come to worst and things were to threaten my life, she said, I would have some way out. Trump's Jan. 20 order, which questions th

Trump admin to pressure IOC to come up with uniform transgender athlete ban

President Donald Trump is ready to take his fight against transgender athletes to the International Olympic Committee. Trump said Wednesday during a signing ceremony for an executive order aimed at banning transgender athletes from women's sports that his administration wants the IOC to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject" ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The order empowers the Secretary of State's office to pressure the IOC to amend standards governing Olympic sporting events to promote fairness, safety and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women's sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction. The order also calls for the secretary of state and the Department of Homeland Security to review and adjust, as needed, policies permitting admission to the United States of males seeking to participate i