TL;DR
- Lambda Legal urged a federal appeals court to uphold a ruling striking down the Pentagon’s HIV enlistment ban.
- A 2024 court found the ban unconstitutional, arbitrary, and rooted in outdated stigma.
- The Pentagon appealed — and the Fourth Circuit temporarily reinstated the ban while arguments proceed.
- Advocates say science is clear: people with undetectable HIV are fully able to serve.
- The case could set a major precedent for LGBTQ+ equality in military service.
A Policy from the 1980s Meets a Courtroom in 2025
The Pentagon’s long-running, medically outdated ban on enlisting people living with HIV just got dragged back into the legal spotlight — and Lambda Legal came armed for battle. In front of a three-judge panel at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, attorneys argued that the U.S. military’s HIV enlistment ban isn’t just archaic, but blatantly unconstitutional. Their message was blunt: this policy belongs in a museum, not in a modern military.
The case, Wilkins v. Hegseth, challenges the Department of Defense and Army rules that flat-out bar individuals with HIV from entering the armed forces, regardless of whether they have undetectable viral loads, no health complications, and zero risk of transmission. A federal court already slapped the Pentagon down in 2024, calling the policy “irrational, arbitrary, and capricious.” Translation: even the judiciary couldn’t believe the ban was still kicking around.
But the Pentagon appealed — and, in a twist worthy of a legal soap opera, the Fourth Circuit reinstated the ban the same day arguments were heard, placing the district court’s injunction on pause while they deliberate.
Science Says One Thing. The Pentagon Says… the 1980s?
Lambda Legal attorneys Scott Schoettes and Linda Coberly didn’t mince words. They pointed out that for over a year — under the lower court’s ruling — the military successfully processed enlistments from qualified recruits living with HIV. No chaos. No readiness crisis. No issues with deployability. Just proof that the science works when the policy finally catches up.
Gregory Nevins, Lambda Legal senior counsel, emphasized what the medical community has stated for years: modern treatment transforms HIV into a manageable condition, and people with undetectable viral loads “can deploy anywhere, perform all duties without limitation, and pose no transmission risk.” The U=U principle (Undetectable = Untransmittable) has been affirmed by global health authorities. The Pentagon, however, appears committed to pretending it was never discovered.
The plaintiffs include former Army Reservist Isaiah Wilkins — who was kicked out of the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School solely because of an HIV diagnosis — and Minority Veterans of America, representing civilians eager to serve their country without discriminatory gatekeeping.
Earlier cases forced the Pentagon to end bans on commissioning and deploying service members with HIV. Advocates now say this final restriction must fall to complete the trilogy of overdue justice.
Why This Matters for LGBTQ+ Americans
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a medical issue — it’s a civil rights issue. HIV stigma has long been weaponized against LGBTQ+ people, especially queer men and trans women. The military’s enlistment ban doesn’t protect readiness; it protects outdated prejudice. By excluding qualified recruits, it sends a message that people with HIV are inherently unfit, a lie that both science and lived experience have disproven.
Ending the ban would mark one of the last major policy reversals in the fight against HIV-based discrimination in federal institutions. Advocates say a ruling upholding the lower court’s decision would erase decades of harmful stigma and affirm that people living with HIV deserve the same opportunities — including the opportunity to serve openly, proudly, and without bureaucratic fearmongering.
The court’s decision is expected in the coming months. And for LGBTQ+ Americans — especially those living with HIV — it could be a historic turning point.
Because if there’s one thing queer history has taught us, it’s that when science advances, justice better follow.