For a country that claims to love and revere its service members, the U.S. doesn’t seem very interested in military personnel once they need help or protection. After Trump passed legislation banning trans citizens from joining the military, the right-wing had nothing to say regarding the protections of those willing to fight and die for their country.
Testing positive for HIV was difficult enough; getting forced out of the military by the Air Force because of the diagnosis proved even harder. Now the Pentagon is being challenged that their HIV policy is out of date.
Link: https://t.co/Y01bHu7OD4— Colo. Health Network (@COHealthNetwork) December 31, 2018
Now, the Pentagon is trying to discharge members who test positive for HIV, saying that they cannot be deployed. They argued their case in court and U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema called the studies they used to argue their points “irrational, inconsistent, and at variance with modern science,” according to NBC News. She instituted a temporary ban on the military discharges, with a full hearing pending.
‘The case, Roe and Voe v. Shanahan, was filed by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN, two LGBTQ rights organizations. They argued that the Pentagon uses “discriminatory deployment policies” that stop people living with HIV from deploying outside the U.S. without a waiver.’
According to current Pentagon policy, service members who contract #HIV while in the military are considered non-deployable and cannot be appointed as officershttps://t.co/NMWjAFppAh
— Campbell Foundation (@campfoundftl) July 21, 2018
Lambda Legal attorney Scott Shoettes praised Judge Brinkema’s decision. Lambda argued that the outdated science the Pentagon had used to defend the discrimination fails to note that HIV is a very manageable disease and not the death sentence it was once.
‘This is a major victory in our fight to ensure everyone living with HIV can serve their country without discrimination.These decisions should be based on science, not stigma, as today’s ruling from the bench demonstrates.’
Federal Judge Stops Defense Department From Discharging HIV+ Military – For Now https://t.co/KyYGh6Swkx #HIV #Pentagon #DefenseDepartment #LGBTQ #Trump pic.twitter.com/f5X4BJNOPt
— Instinct Magazine (@instinctmag) February 16, 2019
OutServe-SLDN’s policy and legal director, Peter Perkowski, was also happy with the temporary decision to block the discharges.
‘Judge Brinkema recognized not just that the military’s policies were harming our members who are living and serving with HIV, but also indicated that, at least on the evidence before her, the military’s decisions were based on outdated medical science and are categorically denying people living with HIV the same opportunities as their fellow service members. We look forward to a final decision in the case.’
A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's anti-HIV deployment policy to move forward: https://t.co/PzdoZBiD9v #HIV #Military #Pentagon pic.twitter.com/nwHZo5Zr2k
— Metro Weekly (@metroweekly) September 18, 2018
Featured image via Flickr by 82nd Sustainment Brigade under a Creative Commons license
