WASHINGTON, D.C. -Equality California released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoangin response to the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to immediately begin enforcing a ban on transgender servicemembers in the military-which will result in potentially thousands of discharges as well as forbidding new transgender recruits to enlist:

"The Supreme Court's decision to allow the Trump administration's shameful ban on transgender military service to remain in effect is a cowardly retreat of its duty to uphold equality, dignity and service.

Donald Trump's cruel and baseless policy has nothing to do with military readiness or national security - and everything to do with hate and the weaponization of the federal government to discriminate against transgender people. By refusing to intervene, the Supreme Court is complicit in allowing that hate to shape federal policy.

Transgender Americans have served - and continue to serve - with honor, courage and integrity. This ban strips them of the opportunity to do so openly and safely. Banning qualified people from serving our country puts all of our safety at risk.

This ruling also sends a dangerous message to transgender youth across the country: no matter your qualifications or your willingness to sacrifice for your country, your identity alone is disqualifying.

Legal challenges to this discriminatory ban are still pending in federal appellate courts, and we remain hopeful that those courts will uphold the principles of fairness and equality. Multiple federal judges have already found the ban to be unconstitutional - a conclusion the highest court in the land should have also affirmed.

California has long recognized the dignity and service of transgender people, and Equality California will continue to fight alongside our partners until this ban is overturned - and until every transgender person is treated with the respect and fairness they deserve."

In 2017, Equality California filed a suit in the U.S. District Court on behalf of three California plaintiffs who challenged the constitutionality of Trump's first transgender military ban. We were joined in those efforts by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), then-California Attorney General Hon. Xavier Becerra, and Latham & Watkins LLP. Similar challenges were filed across the country, and federal courts issued injunctions to prevent the ban from taking effect.

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