The president’s position would put in place a policy that “violates fundamental constitutional and American values,” the attorneys general said.
“The new ban harms our states’ transgender residents and marginalizes an entire group of people based solely on gender identity,” the letter said.
On Thursday, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. policy on transgender individuals serving in uniform hasn’t and won’t change until Defense Secretary Jim Mattis receives the president’s policy direction and Mattis determines how to implement it.
The Pentagon hasn’t released data on the number of transgender people currently serving, but a Rand Corp. study has estimated between 1,320 and 6,630, out of 1.3 million active-duty troops.
Attorneys general from the following joined Hawaii in signing the letter: California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
