"The case, Wilkins v. Hegseth, challenges Department of Defense and Army rules that bar anyone with HIV from joining the armed forces, even individuals with undetectable viral loads who face no health limitations and pose no risk of transmission. In August 2024, a federal district court found those restrictions violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee and the Administrative Procedure Act, describing the policies as "irrational, arbitrary, and capricious" and noting they perpetuated stigma while undermining the Pentagon's recruitment goals."
"On Tuesday, the same day oral arguments were held, the Fourth Circuit issued an order staying the enforcement of the district court's injunction while it considers the appeal, temporarily reinstating the ban. Lambda Legal attorneys Scott A. Schoettes and Linda Coberly defended the decision, emphasizing that the military has already been successfully processing enlistments of qualified individuals with HIV for more than a year under the district court's injunction. That experience, they argued, undercuts the government's claim that the ban is necessary for readiness or deployability."
Lambda Legal asked a three-judge Fourth Circuit panel to affirm a decision that struck down the military's categorical ban on enlisting people living with HIV as unconstitutional and medically baseless. The case, Wilkins v. Hegseth, targets Department of Defense and Army rules barring anyone with HIV, including those with undetectable viral loads who face no health limitations or transmission risk. A federal district court held the restrictions violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee and the Administrative Procedure Act, calling the policies irrational and harmful to recruitment. The Department of Defense appealed and the Fourth Circuit stayed the injunction, temporarily reinstating the ban while it considers the appeal.
Read at Advocate.com
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