Since before even Albert Cashier, an American soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War, transgender service members and veterans have been a part of not only the fabric of our rich military history, but also our American History.

Today, the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) seeking an order that the VA act on TAVA’s 2016 rulemaking petition for gender-confirmation surgery. Nearly eight years since TAVA submitted its rulemaking petition asking the VA to provide this essential and lifesaving medical care, and more than two years since Secretary McDonough pledged to make this care available, the VA has failed to act. The VA’s delay endangers the health and well-being of many of the nation’s 163,000 transgender veterans. It also violates the VA’s legal obligations.