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A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's plan to ban transgender people from serving in the US military. On Tuesday 18 March, US district judge Ana Reyes in Washington DC ruled that the president’s order to exclude transgender troops from military service likely violates their constitutional rights. She wrote: “The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.” “The cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed – some risking their lives – to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the military ban seeks to deny them