The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit have argued the ban violates their equal protection, due process and First Amendment rights. | AP Photo New Jersey joins fight opposing Trump's transgender military ban

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Tuesday signed on to an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s proposed ban on transgender people serving in the military.

“The President’s ban doesn’t just demean our armed forces, including the many brave transgender soldiers who have served openly and with great distinction. The President’s ban also violates the Constitution,” Grewal said in a press release.


The amicus brief filed in Karnoski v. Trump follows a string of recent actions by Grewal and the administration of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy to challenge the policies of the Trump administration and former Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

These actions include joining a multi-state lawsuit to protect undocumented immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and overturning Christie-era regulations loosening concealed-carry standards for handguns, among others.

“We cannot allow President Trump’s policies to keep brave, patriotic Americans from serving in our military,” Murphy said in a press release. “I am proud to support Attorney General Grewal and other states to oppose this discriminatory and unconstitutional ban.”

The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including 22-year-old Ryan Karnoski, a transgender male who wants to serve in the military, have argued the ban violates their equal protection, due process and First Amendment rights.

The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers from Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN.

U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman granted a preliminary injunction to block the federal government from enforcing the ban while the lawsuit is ongoing. As of Jan. 1, 2018, the Pentagon was required to admit transgender recruits.

The amicus brief, signed by a coalition of attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia, calls on the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington to grant the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and declare the ban on transgender military service unconstitutional.

In 2016, the Obama administration overturned a long-standing prohibition on transgender people openly serving in the military.

In July 2017, Trump tweeted that the U.S. would “not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” which was later codified in a presidential memo.

“Discriminatory prohibitions on participation in civic life … impose significant harms” on the states and their residents, the attorneys general wrote in the brief.

Approximately 150,000 veterans, active-duty service members and reservists identify as transgender, according to the brief.

“Nothing about being transgender inhibits a person’s ability to serve in the military or otherwise contribute to society,” they wrote.