A federal judge in Washington on Monday blocked U.S. President Donald Trump from banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, handing a victory to transgender service members who accused the president of violating their constitutional rights. Trump said in a tweet in July he would ban transgender people from the military in a move that would reverse Democratic former president Barack Obama's policy and halt years of efforts to eliminate barriers to military service based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The transgender service members sued in August to try to block the ban. The service members asserted that Trump's policy violated their rights to due process and equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution. Trump announced in a tweet in July 2017 that he planned to ban transgender people from serving in the military.

Source: CBC News October 30, 2017 18:28 UTC