The military and HIV
The military can no longer reject enrollees who have HIV, a federal judge ruled this week. (Infectious Disease Advisor).
- The same federal judge in 2022 ended the military’s ban on HIV-positive people deploying abroad.
- U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema called the ban “irrational, arbitrary, and capricious.” (Military Times)
- The ruling was in a case brought by Isaiah Wilkins, a Georgia enlisted officer who sued the military in 2022 for reinstatement, after being kicked out because of his HIV diagnosis.
- The judge’s ruling states that people who are HIV-positive can fully serve in the military as long as their viral load is undetectable.
Police use of force
Even since the summer of 2020, when worldwide protests erupted over the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, police use of force has continued to increase nationwide. (Guardian)
- Half of the 634 agencies featured in the report showed increased police use of force since 2020.
- The report by Mapping Police Violence involves use-of-force data from 2,800 agencies that serve about 60% of the population, with only 634 agencies providing data for all of 2017 to 2022.
- Thus far in 2024, police have killed a total of 902 people — 57 more people this year than last year at this time.
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and Blacks, are three times or more likely to be killed by police than whites.
- The number of people shot to death by police has increased every year since 2017. (Statista)
AME still against gay marriage
In a vote last week, the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) denomination voted against a new rule that would end its 20-year ban on gay marriage.
- The vote was close, with 896 delegates voting to delete an amendment that would have ended the gay marriage ban, and 772 voting against deletion of the amendment. (Christian Post)
- The AME church’s guidelines say that “unions of any kind between persons of the same sex or gender are contrary to the will of God.”
- The ban dates back to 2004, when the AME explicitly forbade its ordained ministers from blessing same-sex unions.
- A study by Pew Research Center indicates just over half of AME members polled are strongly against gay marriage.
- Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, thanked the A.M.E. for its endorsement on the same day of its vote to retain its gay marriage ban.
Both presidential candidates now support legalization
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are now on record in support of cannabis legalization.
- Trump announced last weekend he planned to vote in support of recreational cannabis this November in his home state of Florida. (Reason Magazine)
- Though Harris used to oppose legalization while California attorney general, she announced her support for legalization in 2020 while a U.S. senator. (USA Today)
- Related: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced last week that a hearing on rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 drug won’t happen until Dec. 2.
- Related: cannabis stocks dropped by up to 13 percent last week upon word of the delay.
National and World Briefs is a periodic summary of pivotal news, curated by The Real Mainstream based on our mission of improving the quality of discourse about and among marginalized identities. Email suggested news briefs, with links, to reachus@therealmainstream.com.
