Donald Trump has been at war with transgender members of the Armed Forces since last summer, ever since tweeting they were no longer allowed to serve their country “in any capacity” because they’re too burdensome and distracting. Now, he’s turning his focus to soldiers living with HIV.
The Department of Defense’s new “Deploy or Get Out!” policy, which goes into effect October 1, orders the Pentagon to deny people living with HIV from enlisting in the Armed Forces. It also deems current soldiers living with HIV “non-deployable”, then orders the Pentagon to discharge anyone who is unable to be deployed outside of the country for longer than 12 consecutive months.
Now, two separate lawsuits, Harrison v. Mattis and Doe v. Mattis, are challenging the new policy, which Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says is to promote “readiness” within the Armed Forces, but which many others see as a thinly-veiled attempt at a government-sponsored HIV purge within the U.S. military.
Lambda Legal reports:
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These service members are being denied significant career advancement opportunities or threatened with discharge due to President Trump’s new “Deploy or Get Out!” policy.
Left unaddressed, hundreds of service members who are otherwise fit for duty, including named-plaintiff Sgt. Nick Harrison, will be discharged from the military, suffer irrevocable harm to their careers, and lose critical health care and other benefits.
41-year-old Sgt. Nick Harrison says soldiers living with HIV should not be denied the opportunity to serve their country.
“This case is not just about me,” he says. “This is about every person living with HIV knowing that they can perform any job in the world, including serving in the military.”
Harrison adds, “I look forward to the day that I can serve my country to the full extent of my abilities, based on my performance and unfettered by unfounded fears and misperceptions about HIV.”
In addition to potentially losing his health care and other benefits, Harrison says the new policy blocks soldiers living with HIV from achieving officer status.
“Soldiers, sailors, fighter pilots and marines are seeing their promising careers cut short, their dreams of service shattered and their health jeopardized due to antiquated notions about HIV and the stigma that results,” says Scott Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal.
It’s estimated the futures of around 1,200 service members are now on the line.
Related: Trump’s trans military ban has everything to do with his proposed Mexican border wall
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On the campaign trail, Trump (shutter), said he would do more for LGBTQ people than Hillary. Since his inauguration, his administration led by Jeff Sessions and Mike Pence is sending LGBTQ hard won rights back to the 1960s. Any gay person that voted for Trump should be ashamed of himself and if you’re a Log Cabin Republican – you are stupid!
alanh1249
..He never said it was going to be positive moves
Tony1129
100% agreed!!
Tête Carrée
He meant to say “would not”.
He’s aiways mixing those two up. Give the poor nice man a break.
WillParkinson
Waits for the Trump lovers to come and tell us how wrong we are. How he’s still such a pro-LGBT guy.
tham
You mean the Russians.
They’re everywhere on this site…
Tony1129
Those Trump lovers need their heads examined. Sp8211 is so correct also. Any LGBT who voted for that traitor should be ashamed, also the ones who are being deported. He lied to you and to this country.
batesmotel
This is about people with HIV that want to serve in the military, but now can’t. This doesn’t have anything to do with gays. You’re making the assumption that it’s a gay disease by your statement. Did you not realize that?.
AtlasRich
@bates.. that is true but in Trump believes that HIV+ = Gay. Getting the HIV+ people out is one step in getting the Gays out. You are correct that it is regarding HIV+ enlisted but even that is bigotry whether that person is Straight or Gay.
Tête Carrée
@batesmotel
Tell that to the Trump voters. Do you think they know the difference? Trump asked Bill Gates if there was a difference between HIV and HPV!
Snicky
Showing his true colors more every day. What a POS! Those who were fooled into believing he will make America great again will see. At what cost? Great again for who?
batesmotel
Oh relax.
jcoberkrom
He’s only doing what Putin told him to. Decimate our fight force so that if it’s necessary for Russia to invade it would be easier!
Doug
I seriously think that every day Trump comes up with ideas to make himself more hated. Is this another attempt to take the public’s focus off his recent fiasco with Putin?
Tony1129
Correct!
Captain proton
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck
lovethyneighbor
Donald Trump is diminishing the US Military at the approval of Vladimir Putin. The two of them are intertwined in a marriage of egos and destruction. Unfortunately, many are still willing to believe the obvious lies that Donald Trump casts in their direction. Those of us, who do fall prey to his ‘fake news’ are not in a place to do anything until the mid-term elections. Hopefully, there will be some things that those, who replace the swamp monsters, will be able to stop Trump and bring America back from the brink of financial disaster and restore the reputation of America as a country to be looked up to.
OzJosh
If you can’t see the direct parallel’s between Trump’s moves and the way fascist dictators typically target and stigmatise minorities, then you’re in complete denial.
offroadnutz
It is absolutely astounding the number of ways that people come up with methods for causing other people grief. If it isn’t separating kids from their parents, it’s separating service people from the very nation’s defense that they have sworn to protect. So now if you’re HIV, Gay, or transgendered you no longer have a right to live and protect your country. This trump administration is so anti-human as to be unbelievable. As a former servicemember, I am dismayed at the lack of empathy that our government has shown to the very people that live here in this United States. If I thought it would do good I would join and impeach President trump program, but as I don’t want to have to deal with the likes of Mike pence and the other bloodsucking cronies that inhabit Washington DC, I will refrain from doing so, but it will not stop me from decrying my shame and anger at these people in office. I doubt seriously whether your Republican independent or Democrat ever thought you would see a day when this sort of thing was taking place right in front of our eyes.
James
AND TO THINK THE LOG CABIN IDIOTS THOUGHT TRUMP WAS SOOOOOO PRO-GAY. I KNEW THE LOG CABIN WERE IDIOTS WHEN THEY ENDORSED BETSY DE VOS FOR DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION……… ENDORSED !!!!!! SHE WHO GAVE MILLIONS TO THE EXTREMELY HOMOPHOBIC NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE.
alanb32244
All this crap coming from a coward who bought himself out of military service with a fake bone spur. All the while patriotic gays lie me were signing up to serve. Trump’s presidential privileges come with responsibilities. He is a moron who does not even understand patriotism.
Kangol
Traitor Trump is the worst we’ve seen occupying the White House by a long shot. He’s making George W. Bush look like George Washington. Just remind yourselves, he “won” despite losing by the largest popular vote margin in US history, so he has zero mandate, though he acts like he does; he has never broken above 50% approval because not just Democrats but a majority (and growing) of independent voters disapprove of his misrule; he commits crime after crime that he’ll eventually have to answer for; and even his “successes” have failure baked into them, like the tax cuts for billionaires, which are exploding the deficit and debt, his “jobs” success, in which wages keep falling (!), and his diplomatic overtures, like with North Korea, which continues to build up its arsenal instead of denuclearizing. He is a con man, and like the Wizard of Oz, his hateful scamming will eventually be revealed to all.
tennisteacher2
As a GAY AF Vet, living with HIV this hits home…It really doesn’t surprise me that he would pull this SHIT…I saw through his act right from the beginning…He could give a RAT’S ASS about the LGBTQ Community…He SOLD what he needed to sell to get votes…..and some in the community BOUGHT his act HOOK LINE and SINKER…
DCguy
So the draft dodger continues to attack people who actually want to serve.
Felecia
I have no intent to antagonize anyone, but as a person who has actually seen combat; blood can and does truly fly everywhere…including into a mouth wide open with horror at the sight of your fellow soldier being shot or blown to pieces right next to you. Been there, done that…so before we all get our shorts into a knot over what is perceived as an unfair decision, ask yourself if YOU would want to be covered in someone’s HIV+ blood that you could accidentally swallow. Not to mention that combat gives you cuts and scrapes from shrapnel. I totally loathe agreeing with King Donald the First on ANYTHING, but HIV+ does not belong in combat situations. Anything else in the military, fine…now go ahead and say what you will about my statement; but if you’ve never experienced a battlefield and it’s widely-strewn bloodshed, then you have no recourse to comment on this subject until you do. Thank you, and again, I am not trying to be an assh*le or biased against people living with HIV. I am simply pointing out what can happen……
Chrisk
You do realize your argument has been used through out history and shown as false repeatably. First with blacks, then women, and finally gays. In other words, just BS used to keep them out of service.
I think your trolling but I’ll bite though. Blood is not raining down everywhere. Even in combat situations. Not sure what video game you got that from other then your over active imagination. The only people that would be dealing with it are the trained medical ones.
GeorgiaGyrl56
Doesn’t this somehow violate their civil rights to maintain their privacy about their medical status? This will be telling the whole world “we put these people out because they have a medical condition”!! I thought that was HIPAA was for?
Not that any previously upheld laws matter now as long as the Dumpster is in office…
PozbearUequalsU
For those who don’t have HIV, the message has been out there for awhile now but bears repeating. HIV positive folks who are on antiretrovirals daily are considered undetectable for the virus. Medical science, clinicians, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control consider Undetectable to equal Untransmittable. Viral levels are monitored every three months to verify the status. A treated soldier who can’t transmit HIV is much safer than a soldier who picked up some other STD while on R & R. You’d be more likely to spread colds and flus than HIV. What about smokers who might wheeze in the field? Are they next to be removed from their careers?
These ridiculously bigoted directives regarding transgender troops, HIV positive troops, and immigrants willing to serve in the military seek to create division solely for the political demands of the twitterer-in-chief. Anyone with health information in the Pentagon, please contact Secretary Mattis and provide him some facts.
U=U
pgs-15
The “deploy or get out” policy was not written specifically to remove gays or HIV+ service members. This policy is about troop strength. The number of authorized service members is approved by Congress. I have served in the AF for over 17 years and continue to serve today. All too often members get placed on profiles that prevent them from deploying. This results with the healthier service members deploying more often than their fair share. I posted this response yesterday and it was deleted. I am not a Russian troll. I did not vote for Trump but I fully support this policy. The military does not have employment rights that most citizens take for granted. The military must be properly staffed to ensure we are trained and equipped to defend our nation. Believe me I speak from the experience of four past deployments and inevitably more to come in my future. This article and comments do not tell the full story. Please do a little more research and fully educate yourselves as articles like this just feed the crazy fake news stories.
Chrisk
Fake news! Fake news! Lol No I’d say it’s pretty specific and real. Funny for not being a trump lover you sure sound like one.
“orders the Pentagon to deny people living with HIV from enlisting in the Armed Forces”
simonsays2018
Felecia
You obviously haven’t heard that undetectable = Untransmissible.
Time to update your hiv knowledge. Ignorance is dangerous.