Federal judge orders US military to stop discriminating against HIV-positive service members News
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Federal judge orders US military to stop discriminating against HIV-positive service members

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia Wednesday ordered the US military to stop restricting HIV-positive service members from advancing in their careers. 

Under the current military policy, individuals with HIV are prohibited from enlisting or being deployed overseas. This policy has faced criticism from a variety of sources.

In 2018, LGBTQ civil rights group Lambda Legal brought lawsuits on behalf of three different service members. In Roe v. Austin, the US Department of Defense attempted to discharge two Air Force members because of their HIV-positive status. In Harrison v. Austin, the Army National Guard denied Sargeant Nick Harrison a commission as a military lawyer.

On Wednesday, Judge Brinkema ordered the military to stop discriminating against HIV-positive service members. She issued summary judgments in the two separate cases, enjoining the defendants from discharging the two Air Force members and denying Harrison’s application on the basis of their HIV-positive statuses.

On the ruling, Lambda Legal wrote: “The groundbreaking ruling represents a landmark moment in the fight to advance the rights of people living with HIV and reflects the reality that HIV is a chronic, treatable condition, not a reason to discriminate.”

Other countries are beginning to take similar steps toward including and allowing HIV-positive individuals advancement in the military. The UK announced in December that it would permit people with HIV to join the armed forces if they no longer have a detectable amount of the virus.