Advocates criticize Biden for inaction after judge orders military to accept recruits with HIV
Advocates for people with HIV are concerned the Biden administration will not fully implement a ruling that allows enlistment by healthy HIV-positive Americans, leaving the matter to Trump.
Several people living with HIV told NBC News they have been turned away from military service or have faced roadblocks to enlistment, despite a federal judge’s ruling in August that found prohibiting healthy HIV-positive recruits is unconstitutional.
Now, as Joe Biden’s presidency reaches its final days, advocates for people with HIV are increasingly concerned that his administration will not fully implement the judge’s ruling, punting it to the incoming Trump administration.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has barred employment discrimination based on HIV status for decades. The Defense Department, which employs nearly 3 million people, has remained the one exception, given the military does not fall under the purview of the ADA.
Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., told NBC News he found the White House’s lack of initiative in the matter “very disappointing. The opportunity was handed to this administration on a silver platter.”
On Aug. 20, a federal district court judge struck down the military’s prohibition on letting people with HIV enlist, ruling that it violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. The judge found that excluding those who maintain undetectable HIV viral loads and are asymptomatic thanks to effective treatment was “irrational, arbitrary and capricious.”
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