EQUITY Act

103 HR 1543 IH: Equal and Uniform Treatment in the Military Act U.S. House of Representatives 2025-02-24 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1543 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 24, 2025 Ms. Strickland (for herself, Ms. Escobar , Ms. Sewell , Mr. Horsford , Ms. Tokuda , Ms. McClellan , Ms. Norton , Ms. Sherrill , Mr. Lieu , and Mr. Veasey ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To amend title 10, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination in the Armed Forces. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Equal and Uniform Treatment in the Military Act or the EQUITY Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Women, Black, Native American, and LGBTQIA+ Americans have served in the Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War. (2) In 1948, 16 years before the enactment of the Civil Rights Act ( Public Law 88–352 ; 78 Stat. 241), which desegrated civilian spaces, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which allowed Black members of the Armed Forces to serve side-by-side with white members. (3) In 1948, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act ( Public Law 80–625 ; 62 Stat. 356) into law, officially allowing women to serve as full, permanent members of each Armed Force. (4) In 1967, President Johnson signed into law Public Law 90–130 , which authorized the promotion of women to the ranks of general and flag officers. (5) In 1972, women were allowed to command units that included men. (6) In 1982, the Department of Defense Instruction 1332.14, Enlisted Administrative Separations , banned homosexual individuals from serving in the Armed Forces. (7) In 1993, President Clinton signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 ( Public Law 103–16 ), which enacted section 654 of title 10, United States Code, Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces , commonly known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell . (8) In 2011, President Obama signed into law the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 , allowing homosexual members to openly serve in the Armed Forces. (9) In 2015, the last remaining policy restrictions on women serving in direct combat roles were removed. (10) In 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13988, which rescinded the policy that prohibited transgender individuals from serving in the Armed Forces. (11) In 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14183, falsely stating that people who are transgender cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service and that their identity conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life. (12) It should be the policy of the United States that every member of the Armed Forces has the right to serve, advance, and be evaluated based on only individual merit, fitness, capability, and performance, in an environment free of discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. 3. Nondiscrimination in the Armed Forces Chapter 49 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 974 the following new section: 975. Prohibition on discrimination (a) Prohibition (1) Subject to paragraph (2), discrimination within the Department of Defense against an individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation, is prohibited. (2) A qualification established or applied regarding eligibility for service in an armed force shall take into account only the ability of an individual to meet— (A) general occupational standards for military service; and (B) the particular military occupational specialty. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) The term gender identity means the gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s designated sex at birth. (2) The term sex includes— (A) a sex stereotype; (B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; and (C) sex characteristics, including intersex traits. (3) The term sex stereotype includes— (A) stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity; (B) an expectation of how an individual represents or communicates their gender to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, activity, voice, mannerism, or body characteristic; (C) the expectation that an individual will consistently identify with only one gender; and (D) an expectation regarding the appropriateness of a role for a certain sex. .