Naval Academy Will Bar Trans Students Starting in 2020

As Donald Trump's trans military ban goes into effect, the nation's service academies are putting up bars too.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

April 17 2019 1:00 PM EST

April 17 2019 1:04 PM EST

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With Donald Trump's transgender military ban going into effect, the service academies that train military personnel have begun announcing they will not admit trans applicants.

The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., will bar transgender people from enrolling in the 2020-2021 school year and beyond, Defense Department officials told Annapolis's Capital Gazette.

However, those who had enrolled earlier will be able to remain at the school under the Obama administration policy that allowed open service by trans people.

The ban on military service by transgender Americans went into effect Friday, even though lawsuits against it are still making their way through federal courts. Under the policy, trans people will be barred from the armed forces unless they are willing to serve in the gender to which they were assigned at birth.

It is expected to result in the discharge of an estimated 13,700 transgender service members, out of an estimated 15,000 serving.

The Naval Academy is one of five U.S. service academies and the first to announce, and the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., has confirmed that it will cease admitting trans candidates, the Associated Pressreports.

U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are expected to follow suit shortly.