Transgender military ban leaves man ‘crushed’ and woman misses window to enlist. Now these desert residents are … – The Desert Sun

Dozens rally for transgender troops in Palm Springs. Omar Ornelas, The Desert Sun

Members of the community attend a rally on Arenas Road in Palm Springs in support of transgender members of the U.S. military. (Photo: Omar Ornelas/The Desert Sun )Buy Photo

Two desert residents filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Tuesday, arguing that their plans to join the armed forces had been dashed by the president's decision to bar transgender people from military service.

Aiden Stockman, 20, of Yucca Valley and Tamasyn Reeves, 29, of Desert Hot Springs, say they had met with recruiters and were preparing for enlistment when President Donald Trump tweeted on July 26.

The tweet read in part: "The United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military."

On Aug. 25, Trump formalized the policy with a memo to the the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, ordering that they reinstate a ban on openly transgender people in the military.

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The Obama administration had lifted the ban on transgender servicemembers in June 2016. Trans people already in the military were permitted to serve openly; trans people who wanted to enlist could do so beginning July 1, 2017.

Trump's tweet revoking the policy came less than a month later meaning trans people who wanted to enlist had only about four weeks in which they could have done so.

The lawsuit namesTrump and five military officials, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, Jr., as defendants.

The defense hasnot yet responded to the complaint in court.

Aiden Stockman and a Yucca Valley classmate attend the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast on Friday in Palm Springs.(Photo: Lauren Reyes/The Desert Sun)

According to the complaint, Aiden Stockman grew up in the high desert and frequently talked to neighbors stationed at Twentynine Palms about military service. But he felt deep discomfort in his own body, including binding his breasts to hide the curve and even attempting suicide, Stockman told Palm Springs' Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in 2015.

Then, in 2014,he began hormone replacement therapy, and later that year, he took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test a prerequisite placement test for military service.

Inthe year following his 2015 graduation, Stockman scheduled an appointment for a double mastectomy surgery. He planned to enlist shortly after.

"Upon learning of the August 25 Directive, Mr. Stockman felt crushed, as he will no longer be able to pursue his dream of serving his country in the Air Force," attorneys wrote in the complaint.

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Tamasyn Reeves first met with a recruiter eight years ago, when she was 21, but was told she couldn't serve because the military still barred openly LGBT people from service. She began hormone replacement therapy two years later.

Members of the community attend a rally on Arenas Road in Palm Springs in support of transgender members of the U.S. military. (Photo: Omar Ornelas/The Desert Sun )

After the Obama administration opened the military to transgender members, "Ms. Reeves decided to enlist as soon as the final procedures for accession of transgender individuals were solidified."

But Reeves missed the window in Julywhen she could've enlisted as an openly trans person.

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Frank Pizzurro, a spokesperson for Latham & Watkins LLP, confirmed Peterson and Reeves' cities of residence.

Four other transgender people who'd hoped to join the military are party to the suit, as is Equality California, one of the state's largest LGBT advocacy organizations.

Contrary to what the President states, ejecting loyal members of the armed forces promotes chaos and division, not unit cohesion, said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, in a statement. The cost to the government of transition-related care is negligible. On the other hand, discharging thousands will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and will rip trained and loyal servicemembers out of their units, harming military readiness and requiring the military to find and pay to train replacements."

Reach the reporter at rosalie.murphy@desertsun.com.

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Transgender military ban leaves man 'crushed' and woman misses window to enlist. Now these desert residents are ... - The Desert Sun