Military Ban on People Living With HIV Faces Legal Challenge
Lambda Legal filed a legal challenge Thursday to the U.S. military policy that bars people living with HIV from enlisting in the U.S.
Armed Forces.In a news release, the LGBTQ+ rights group said that the policy is discriminatory.“The existing policy is out of step with science and unlawfully excludes people living with HIV from performing as members of the U.S.
military. A positive HIV status alone has no effect on a person’s ability to safely serve,” said Kara Ingelhart, senior attorney at Lambda Legal.Ingelhart said the current ban is “a serious equity issue that has a significant impact on communities who already face countless systemic barriers to accessing full life in America,” noting that HIV disproportionally affects communities of color and LGBTQ+ people.Winston & Strawn LLP, Perkowski Legal, PC, and Scott A.
Schoettes, Esq. along with Lambda Legal and the group Minority Veterans of America, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
