AUSTIN — A freshman at the University of Texas at Austin says he has lost his military scholarship because he is transgender man.
Map Pesqueira, a 19-year-old from San Antonio, said he was awarded a three-year Reserve Officers' Training Corps, or ROTC, scholarship beginning his sophomore year. But his financial aid is now invalid, he told The Dallas Morning News, under the federal government's new policy that bans many transgender troops from enlisting in the military.
"I was told that my scholarship is void," said Pesqueira, whose story was first reported in The Daily Texan. He added that it was important to tell "the story of ROTC cadets who are relying on a ROTC scholarship to fund their education.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Friday ruled in favor of a Trump administration policy barring certain transgender people from serving in the U.S. armed forces, handing the president his first legal victory on the issue after several defeats.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a decision by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that blocked the policy, saying it likely violates the constitutional rights of transgender recruits and service members.
President Trump issued an order late Friday that bans transgender individuals from serving in the armed forces except under "limited circumstances," reversing an Obama-era policy that allowed transgender troops to serve openly for the first time.
DOD Photo/U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Pineiro
President Donald Trump announced last summer that his proposed ban on transgender people in the U.S. military was the product of “consultation” with “Generals and military experts.”
The Department of Defense announced Dec. 11 that it will again allow transgender applicants to join the military starting Jan. 1, 2018, on the heels of a new court ruling against President Donald Trump’s announced ban on transgender service members.
A federal judge has blocked parts of President Donald Trump's presidential memo banning transgender Americans from military service, setting up a court dispute that the White House and its critics could possibly pursue to the Supreme Court.
