The Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lawsuit over its policy barring transgender people from the military, a policy for which the high court handed the administration an interim win last year. The Department of Justice filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the justices late last […]
Page A3From§Eachthe early evening edition — 1 September 2026
Trump urges Supreme Court to ban transgender troops as military suicide rates climb
The administration lines up at the Supreme Court, asking for a ban on transgender troops in the military—an act they frame as readiness, discipline, efficiency. But the numbers behind the curtain don’t match the press release: suicide rates among active service members climb, and the institution’s response is to narrow the gate, not widen the care. The ban doesn’t solve the crisis, it just picks who gets to wear the uniform. The readiness argument shuffles the deck, but doesn’t count the cards. The outcome is plain: those who need support are locked out, and those who stay keep marching until the numbers rise. The fix isn’t in the ban. The fix is in the care, and the care is missing. When the numbers climb, the press release doesn’t march with them. The gate closes, and the casualties keep coming. In the ledger, the cost is counted in uniforms and headstones. The stakes are as high as the numbers, and the numbers don’t lie.
“First they lock out the troops who need care, then they keep the rest marching till the numbers climb. The ban isn’t about readiness—it’s about who gets left behind, and who gets to stay in uniform until they break.”
“The administration is just trying to ensure military effectiveness. That’s why they’re asking the Supreme Court for help. As for suicide rates, those are tragic, but they’re unrelated—unless you count, well, maybe you shouldn’t count. Did I say that? I mean, it's complicated.”
The receipts
Soliders were 9 times more likely to die by suicide than in combat
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.