I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1543 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination in the 
Armed Forces. 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equal and Uniform 
Treatment in the Military Act’’ or the ‘‘EQUITY Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(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 allow-
ing 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 In-
struction 1332.14, ‘‘Enlisted Administrative Separa-
tions’’, banned homosexual individuals from serving 
in the Armed Forces. 
(7) In 1993, President Clinton signed into law 
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
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Year 1994 (Public Law 103–16), which enacted sec-
tion 654 of title 10, United States Code, ‘‘Policy 
concerning homosexuality in the armed forces’’, com-
monly 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’’, al-
lowing homosexual members to openly serve in the 
Armed Forces. 
(9) In 2015, the last remaining policy restric-
tions on women serving in direct combat roles were 
removed. 
(10) In 2021, President Biden issued Executive 
Order 13988, which rescinded the policy that prohib-
ited transgender individuals from serving in the 
Armed Forces. 
(11) In 2025, President Trump issued Execu-
tive Order 14183, falsely stating that people who are 
transgender ‘‘cannot satisfy the rigorous standards 
necessary for military service’’ and that their iden-
tity ‘‘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 
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on only individual merit, fitness, capability, and per-
formance, in an environment free of discrimination 
on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, 
sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation. 
SEC. 3. NONDISCRIMINATION IN THE ARMED FORCES. 
Chapter 49 of title 10, United States Code, is amend-
ed 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, na-
tional origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation, is pro-
hibited. 
‘‘(2) A qualification established or applied regarding 
eligibility for service in an armed force shall take into ac-
count only the ability of an individual to meet— 
‘‘(A) general occupational standards for mili-
tary service; and 
‘‘(B) the particular military occupational spe-
cialty. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gen-
der-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or 
other gender-related characteristics of an individual, 
regardless of the individual’s designated sex at birth. 
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‘‘(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 oth-
ers through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, activ-
ity, voice, mannerism, or body characteristic; 
‘‘(C) the expectation that an individual will 
consistently identify with only one gender; and 
‘‘(D) an expectation regarding the appro-
priateness of a role for a certain sex.’’. 
Æ 
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