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Pentagon, Army Sued Over Rule Preventing HIV-Positive People From Enlisting

The group won a legal victory in April to allow HIV-positive people in the military to be promoted and get deployed overseas.

The Pentagon and Army were sued on Thursday over a decades-old law that prohibits people living with HIV from joining the military. The lawsuit, filed by legal advocacy group Lambda Legal, argued that the law ignored modern medical advancements that made it possible for those diagnosed with the disease to live lives just as long as those who did not have it. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of three plaintiffs, including a gay man who is a police officer and two women. The women went under pseudonyms in the lawsuit in order to prevent further discrimination. The law does not apply to those who test positive while already in the armed services, a group Lambda secured a legal victory for in April allowing them to be promoted and deploy overseas.