on august 31, 2017, three former secretaries of military services, eric fanning (army), ray mabus (navy), and deborah lee james (air force), submitted declarations in support of the plaintiffs, and three plaintiffs were added to the lawsuit. also on august 31, the plaintiffs applied for a preliminary injunction on the proposed ban, stating "it is unconstitutional" and that "plaintiffs have suffered serious and irreparable harms that will continue absent this court's intervention."