{"id":217605,"date":"2025-11-10T15:35:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?p=217605"},"modified":"2025-11-10T15:35:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:35:36","slug":"defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century","title":{"rendered":"Defending Veterans\u2019 Rights for Over a Century"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"metadata":[2027,1763,1757,1750,2024,1751,1752,1762,1755,1769,1768],"class_list":["post-217605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","metadata-both","metadata-context","metadata-historical-commemorative","metadata-layout","metadata-length","metadata-listicle-roundup","metadata-longform","metadata-multimedia","metadata-narrative-frame","metadata-national-affiliate-staff","metadata-voice"],"acf":{"header_layout":"standard","header_image":217622,"mobile_header_image":null,"description":"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected. ","authors":[1987],"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"The ACLU 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.\r\n\r\nOur 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."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Dissent and Discrimination: Early Battles for Equality and Justice in the Military ","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"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.\r\n\r\nAround 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 ACLU, and our defense of war opponents helped cement the ACLU\u2019s reputation as a champion of liberty for both civilians and service members."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"content_link","content_link":{"":null,"content_link_field_group":{"url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/100-years-fighting-for-veterans-servicemembers-families","":null,"title_override":"","image_override":"","hide_description":false,"description":"","title":"100+ Years Fighting for Veterans, Servicemembers, and their Families | American Civil Liberties Union","og-title":"100+ Years Fighting for Veterans, Servicemembers, and their Families","og-image":217625,"og-site-name":"American Civil Liberties Union"},"card_variant":"horizontal","hide_image":false,"width":"standard","alignment":"left"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"From the 1940s to the 1970s, the ACLU took on some of the most consequential cases affecting veterans and servicemembers. In 1942,\u202fthe\u202fACLU\u202frepresented Winfred Lynn,\u202fa\u202fBlack man,\u202fwho\u202fresponded to his\u202fdraft notice\u202fby defiantly\u202fstating\u202fthat he was \u201cready to serve in any unit of the armed forces of my country which is not segregated by race.\u201d\u202fThis case was a contributing factor in President\u202fHarry\u202fTruman's 1948\u202fexecutive\u202forder ending racial segregation in the military.\r\n\r\nThirty years later, we fought to uphold the rights of pregnant servicemembers, , most notably in the landmark case of\u202fStruck v. Secretary of Defense<\/i>, 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.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, in the 1970s, the ACLU 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.\r\n\r\nThese 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 ACLU Women\u2019s Rights Project, was one of the key legal minds advancing these and other fights on behalf of women during the 1970s."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Beyond Don\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t Tell: Veterans\u2019 and Servicemembers\u2019 Civil Liberties in the Modern Era ","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the ACLU also attended to the needs of veterans, addressing inequities in the military\u2019s discharge system. In the 1970s, our Veterans Education Project published the \u201cACLU Practice Manual on Military Discharge Upgrading,\u201d and we launched a national telephone hotline to connect veterans with assistance to upgrade their discharges.\r\n\r\nToday, fights over who has the right to serve continue. We fought Don\u2019t Ask, Don\u2019t 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.\r\n\r\nUnder 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.\r\n\r\nWhen 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.\r\n\r\nBut as far as we\u2019ve come, there\u2019s 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.\r\n\r\nJust as these inequities persist, so does our dedication to demanding better. The ACLU is in courts in Congress to fight for a military that reflects our country\u2019s values of fairness, equality, and justice."}}],"featured_cases_section":{"enable_featured_cases":false,"title":"Featured Cases","description":"","featured_cases":null},"action":[148398],"issues":[46373],"related_content_cases":"","related_content_documents":"","related_content_publications":"","related_affiliates":"","content_layout":"standard","theme":"light","drupal_nid":""},"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defending Veterans\u2019 Rights for Over a Century | ACLU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-10T20:35:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2025\/11\/veterans-day-social.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aaron Madrid Aksoz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2025\/11\/veterans-day-social.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century\",\"name\":\"Defending Veterans\u2019 Rights for Over a Century | ACLU\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-10T20:35:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century\"]}],\"author\":{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#\/schema\/person\/aaron-madrid-aksoz\",\"name\":\"Aaron Madrid Aksoz\",\"jobTitle\":\"Media and Engagement Strategist, ACLU\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/bio\/aaron-madrid-aksoz\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"American Civil Liberties Union","description":"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Defending Veterans\u2019 Rights for Over a Century | ACLU","og_description":"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century","og_site_name":"American Civil Liberties Union","article_published_time":"2025-11-10T20:35:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2025\/11\/veterans-day-social.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aaron Madrid Aksoz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2025\/11\/veterans-day-social.jpg","twitter_creator":"@aclu","twitter_site":"@aclu","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century","name":"Defending Veterans\u2019 Rights for Over a Century | ACLU","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-11-10T20:35:36+00:00","description":"This Veterans Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring that the rights of those who serve are honored and protected.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/civil-liberties\/defending-veterans-rights-for-over-a-century"]}],"author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#\/schema\/person\/aaron-madrid-aksoz","name":"Aaron Madrid Aksoz","jobTitle":"Media and Engagement Strategist, ACLU","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/bio\/aaron-madrid-aksoz"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/","name":"American Civil Liberties Union","description":"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.","inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"American Civil Liberties Union","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217605"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217626,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217605\/revisions\/217626"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue\/46373"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/action\/148398"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bios\/1987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217605"},{"taxonomy":"metadata","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/metadata?post=217605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}