Landmark Court Victory: Military Can't Boot People With HIV
Lawyers for the plaintiffs hailed the ruling, which will remain under seal for several weeks.“Until these lawsuits, the Department of Defense was the only entity in the U.S.
that was still legally permitted to discriminate against people living with HIV despite the existence of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act,” Kara Ingelhart, senior attorney at Lambda Legal, a co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “This ruling knocks down the barrier preventing people living with HIV from commissioning and brings an end to the military’s ongoing discrimination against the approximately 2,000 service members currently serving while living with HIV.”“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with MMAA, Lambda Legal, and others to overturn the military’s outdated and unconstitutional policies concerning people living with HIV,” John Harding, a senior associate at co-counsel Winston & Strawn, said in a statement. “Our pro bono efforts, in both the district court and the Fourth Circuit, have brought about a meaningful, and long overdue, change for service members living with HIV.”Harrison, a sergeant in the D.C.
Army National Guard, was denied advancement to an officer position in the Judge Advocate General Corps due to the fact he is living with HIV.
Two active-duty airmen in the Air Force, pseudonymously named Richard Roe and Victor Voe, were told of their imminent discharge because they were living with HIV.
