Dem Lawmaker’s Bill Bans Discrimination in Military

A Democrat House member is introducing a bill that prohibits discrimination in the military based on race, gender, and other innate characteristics, Military.com reported.

Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., planned to introduce the bill Wednesday, the 75th anniversary of the racial desegregation of the military.

Strickland’s legislation would ban the Pentagon from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation, Military.com reported.

The bill adds that one’s eligibility for service could be based only on the ability to meet occupational standards.

“We have seen over the past several years that some extremist members of the Republican Party are trying to undermine decades of efforts to improve racial equality, address extremism and attract a wider group of recruits,” Strickland wrote in a letter to other House lawmakers seeking co-sponsors for the bill.

“While the department prohibits discrimination by instruction, service members deserve to know that discrimination is prohibited by the law.”

Military.com obtained a copy of the letter.

Strickland’s bill is similar to one introduced earlier this year by Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif.

Jacobs’ bill would specify that standards for service cannot include criteria based on race, color, national origin, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, Military.com said. That bill, though, focuses on preventing discrimination against LGBTQ+ troops and forestalling a ban on transgender military service from ever being reinstated.

The messaging of the bill from Strickland, whose Black father served in the Army during World War II when it was still racially segregated, is broader.

“A diverse military is a strong military, and addressing our recruitment and retention challenges is vital to shoring up our national security and ensuring readiness,” Strickland said in a statement to Military.com.

The bills by Strickland and Jacobs are not expected to advance in the Republican-controlled House.

House Republicans’ version of the annual defense policy bill includes provisions to end Pentagon diversity programs and ban gender-affirming health care for transgender troops. GOP members also want to reverse the policy covering leave and travel expenses for service members seeking abortions, Military.com reported.

President Harry Truman’s executive order on July 26, 1948 ended racial segregation in the military.