DOD HIV and "Transgender" Policies Underscore Religious Discrimination

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite the fact that the Department of Defense (DOD) is unlawfully denying religious exemptions for service members for the COVID-19 shots, the Secretary of Defense updated the DOD’s policies yesterday to now allow service members who test positive for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) to continue to serve on active duty. In other words, an HIV-positive service member remains deployable while an otherwise healthy service member who submits a religious accommodation request from the COVID shots are “non-deployable” and subject to dismissal. In April 2021, the DOD revised its policies on so-called “transgender” service members. Despite the fact that such service members may undergo opposite sex hormones and life-altering surgery, under the Biden administration transgenders may serve openly and will not be discharged from the service.