The Modern Military Association of America released a special advocacy issue this month – featuring the recent court victory in Harrison v. Austin. Interviewed alongside LGBTQ+ rights icon Jim Obergefell, SGT Nick Harrison offered a sobering perspective on the slow march toward victory. He noted that he still hadn’t seen anything change since the court’s recent decision and he expressed frustration over the lack of action by supposed political allies.
Harrison said that he originally applied for a position with the Judge Advocate Corps in 2014 so that he could finish out his twenty years of military service as a commissioned officer, but the U.S. Military effectively prevented him from doing that. He also noted that the court ruling won’t get rid of all HIV stigma and discrimination. It will just become more subtle.
However, Harrison took some comfort in the effects of the court’s decision, “For the 2,000 people who are in the military and HIV positive, maybe now they feel they can say something or do something. It starts that momentum, and now it’s impossible to put it back in the can.”
The full issue can be read here: https://online.fliphtml5.com/dchey/slsq/
