Federal judge temporarily blocks military from forcing out HIV-positive airmen
Source: Washington Post
By Rachel Weiner February 15 at 4:05 PM
A federal judge on Friday blocked the military from forcing out a pair of HIV-positive airmen, saying she had seen no evidence that the disease should prevent them from serving.
“These are the kinds of people that it seems to me the military wants to keep in the service,” Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia said in court while issuing an injunction. She elaborated in a memorandum, chastising the government for providing “no evidence, whether anecdotal or otherwise, of the effect of HIV on a servicemember’s medical fitness or the military’s readiness.”
Her ruling allows the two airmen who sued to remain in their posts pending trial; both would otherwise have been terminated in the next few weeks.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” said Scott Schoettes, an attorney for the airmen from the LGBT civil rights group Lambda Legal. “We look forward to trial in this matter, where we can show HIV status has no bearing on an airman’s ability to serve.”
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-military-from-forcing-out-hiv-positive-airmen/2019/02/15/5e40b1a2-313c-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html