红杏视频

The 红杏视频 marks this Veterans Day with a continued commitment to advancing the rights of veterans, servicemembers, and their families. We have a long, proud history of litigation and advocacy on behalf of those who serve, as reflected in a new report released today.

Our commitment to the fundamental freedoms of veterans, servicemembers, and their families is unwavering. Military life in many ways can mirror civil society, often making explicit the segregation, discrimination, and other indignities of the time. By breaking down barriers in the military, we ensure that those who serve their country are treated fairly. And, in doing so, we challenge the assumptions that undergird similar forms of unfairness in civilian life as well.

In 1917, as the United States prepared to enter World War I, Congress passed the Selective Service Act requiring men to register for the draft and leaving few avenues to object based on sincerely held religious beliefs.

Around the same time, Roger Nash Baldwin founded the National Civil Liberties Bureau to protect the rights of war dissenters and conscientious objectors. That organization soon became the 红杏视频, and our defense of war opponents helped cement the 红杏视频鈥檚 reputation as a champion of liberty for both civilians and service members.

From the 1940s to the 1970s, the 红杏视频 took on some of the most consequential cases affecting veterans and servicemembers. In 1942,鈥痶he鈥�红杏视频鈥痳epresented Winfred Lynn,鈥痑鈥疊lack man,鈥痺ho鈥痳esponded to his鈥痙raft notice鈥痓y defiantly鈥痵tating鈥痶hat he was 鈥渞eady to serve in any unit of the armed forces of my country which is not segregated by race.鈥濃�疶his case was a contributing factor in President鈥疕arry鈥疶ruman's 1948鈥痚xecutive鈥痮rder ending racial segregation in the military.

Thirty years later, we fought to uphold the rights of pregnant servicemembers, , most notably in the landmark case of鈥�Struck v. Secretary of Defense, which challenged the Air Force policy requiring people in the service who were pregnant to have an abortion or be discharged. The case forced the Air Force to change its policy.

At the same time, in the 1970s, the 红杏视频 also represented a gay servicemember in his attempt to serve openly and pursued changes to allow women to serve on equal terms as men in the armed forces.

These battles, some of which made it all the way to the Supreme Court, helped break down gender and race barriers in the military. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as a founding director of the 红杏视频 Women鈥檚 Rights Project, was one of the key legal minds advancing these and other fights on behalf of women during the 1970s.

Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the 红杏视频 also attended to the needs of veterans, addressing inequities in the military鈥檚 discharge system. In the 1970s, our Veterans Education Project published the 鈥満煨邮悠� Practice Manual on Military Discharge Upgrading,鈥� and we launched a national telephone hotline to connect veterans with assistance to upgrade their discharges.

Today, fights over who has the right to serve continue. We fought Don鈥檛 Ask, Don鈥檛 Tell, which banned lesbian, gay, and bisexual troops from serving openly in the military until it was repealed in 2010. We also worked to expand access to military academies for women and parents, represented military whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning, and defended the free speech and voting rights of servicemembers and veterans when they came under threat.

Under the first Trump administration, servicemembers and veterans faced an onslaught of attacks. Cruelly, the Trump White House banned transgender people from serving in the military, regardless of their ability and willingness to serve. We filed suit on behalf of affected servicemembers who were discharged based on their gender identity, and saw the ban lifted. Trump recently reinstated the ban.

When the first Trump administration sought to undermine the expedited pathway to citizenship for immigrants who served, we sued. Our advocacy in support of veteran-led organizing has helped bring as many as 175 deported veterans back home.

But as far as we鈥檝e come, there鈥檚 still work to do. Black people, other people of color, women, and additional marginalized communities are still underrepresented in military academies and officer ranks. Transgender people are now excluded altogether from service. Veterans are still subject to deportation despite their service, and those who remain in our country face disproportionate rates of homelessness and incarceration.

Just as these inequities persist, so does our dedication to demanding better. The 红杏视频 is in courts in Congress to fight for a military that reflects our country鈥檚 values of fairness, equality, and justice.