BREAKING: We just sued the US @DeptOfDefense along with @OutServeSLDN on behalf of Nick Harrison, a veteran of two overseas combat tours who was denied a position in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps thanks to the Pentagon's outdated #HIV policies. lambdalegal.org/blog/20180530_…
Thanks to the medical realities of 2018, a person living with #HIV can safely perform any job.
But existing Pentagon policies prevented Nick, who lives with HIV, from commissioning. A necessary update to these policies is WELL past-due.
#HIV is managed no differently than other chronic illnesses that allow an individual to enlist or be appointed as an officer, so long as certain criteria are met. These conditions have no effect on force readiness.
There are *many* HIV+ JAG officers already serving!
Sgt. Harrison is a dedicated soldier, an intelligent lawyer and a loyal leader. He possesses every desirable quality we'd want in our armed services.
🗣️ ANYONE willing to put their life on the line to defend the people of our country deserves RESPECT, not discrimination!
Lambda Legal and @OutServeSLDN are committed to ensuring that ALL qualified individuals are given the opportunity to serve.
Plain and simple: Hiring and promotion should be based on a candidate's QUALIFICATIONS. Not outdated, unfounded fears about #HIV.
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ICYMI: The Federalist Society is “a group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to reforming the current legal order.” #SCOTUS nominee #BrettKavanaugh is a member. Fun!
Time for some real talk: This #4thOfJuly, we're finding it extra difficult to celebrate the principles upon which we were taught this country was founded. We're having some trouble feeling it these days. Because honestly, the United States is failing those ideals.
The United States is failing to live up to its own professed ideals by targeting the most marginalized populations that live (or wish to live) within its borders—including women, immigrants, refugees, people of color, and queer people. It's a shame. It is shameful. #July4th
Respect 👏 for 👏 humanity 👏 is 👏 not 👏 a 👏 partisan 👏 issue 👏. All humans deserve the dignity of respect for their humanity. From all nations, and under all governments. #July4th
The court handed us a significant victory on a number of fronts tonight, while also denying a part of our summary judgment motion. The court also clearly did not buy that @realDonaldTrump & @VP’s implementations “plan” from 3/23 is new.
“The Court also rules that, because transgender people have long been subjected to systemic oppression and forced to live in silence, they are a protected class.”
^^^
This is a legal gem from tonight’s ruling. The court ruled that transgender people are a protected class.
Good morning from Seattle! We’re here at the US District Court for the Western District of WA to fight for a permanent block against @realDonaldTrump’s discriminatory #TransMilitaryBan.
Follow this thread for live coverage from inside the courtroom! Hearing starts @ 10am PDT.
If you need to catch up before the coverage, here's our very own @sashabuchert telling us a little about how we got here.
The facts are in. The judge has everything she needs to rule. We won’t be deterred by any of the recent attempts to dress the #TransMilitaryBan up as anything more than a baseless, immaterial attack on our community.
This is nothing more than a transparent ruse cobbled together with spittle and duct tape designed solely to try to mask discrimination. A plan to implement an unconstitutional decree is an unconstitutional plan.
WATCH: @SenWarren is on the Senate floor right now talking about Jeff Sessions's disastrous first year as Attorney General: cs.pn/2slLOZR
.@SenWarren: "Last year, every single Republican voted to confirm Jeff Sessions—a man deemed too racist to hold a federal court judgeship in 1986—to lead the agency charged with defending justice for all Americans."
.@SenWarren: In 1986, Corretta Scott King warned us that Jeff Sessions had used the awesome power of his office as an Alabama prosecutor to chill the free exercise of the vote by African Americans. As Attorney General, he’s continued that crusade.