The Historic Supreme Court Hearing on Trans Rights & an Isaiah Wilkins talks winning his legal fight against the United States Military

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Family, it’s your favorite queer radio personality, Anna Deshawn, and this [00:00:30] is Queer News, your favorite weekly news pod where race and sexuality meet politics, culture, and entertainment. What do we do when trans rights are under attack? Why do we go, we stand up and fight back. That chant, that chant right there was led by award winning journalist and activist Raquel Willis during the [00:01:00] bathroom sit in led by the gender liberation movement.

Now I also saw that activist Hope Giselle organized a bathroom dance party for trans folks at the Capitol as well. It was powerful. Okay. To see both of these black trans women organizing and putting their bodies okay. At risk to speak truth to power this past week. And I’m going to have more on this story in just a little bit, but in the meantime, [00:01:30] yes, family last week, I announced that our merch store had dropped and we had eight customers this week on our store, which is pretty dope.

Our family hoodie. And our family mug are our top sellers, which makes me smile real big. Okay. Big time because family was born really during this podcast, it came to life because I started to tell these stories in this particular way. And so for the hoodie and the mug. And for that [00:02:00] brand to resonate with y’all so much that they are now our top sellers means a whole hell of a lot to me.

Also family, remember our queer news tip line is open. You already know the information is in the show notes and cute crew. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your continued support. I can’t say thank you enough. I hope that you use your cute crew discount code.

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Yes, it’s the holiday gift giving season. A link to our store is in the show notes. Now for the news. It’s December, which means it’s time to wind down. Okay? I’ll be dropping a queer news headline or two on every episode in December and then sharing an interview with an LGBTQ influencer, artist, or politician.

I hope y’all enjoy the lineup that I have in store for you this month. Okay. [00:03:30] Now this week, our top queer news headline is about the Supreme Court hearing about trans healthcare that took place on Wednesday, December 4th in Washington, DC. Now last year, Tennessee passed legislation that denies trans youth gender affirming care, meaning folks who were receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy could no longer receive those treatments.

A few of the families impacted have been fighting in Tennessee and because of an [00:04:00] appeal, this case now sits with the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the plaintiffs argued that the Tennessee law is an Unconstitutional form of sex discrimination. Now, of course, the other side is arguing the exact opposite.

They’re arguing that minors are too young to make these decisions. Rutgers law school professor Katie Iyer said this about the case. This is going to be their first opportunity, meaning of the Supreme Court, [00:04:30] to address the rights of the transgender community under the equal protection clause, especially in view of the vast proliferation A state legislation targeting transgender individuals and in particular trans youth.

She went on to say it’s an incredibly important case and it will set the tone for and set the law for what type of scrutiny these laws will be subjected to across the board. [00:05:00] This is an important moment in history, family. Let me just say that again, real quick, this case being heard in the Supreme Court is a history making moment for LGBTQ folks and for this movement.

Now let me tell you why. I’ve got a couple of reasons why. One Chase Strangio. The ACLU lawyer, you’ve seen Chase many times. I’ve talked about him many [00:05:30] times on this podcast because he plays an important role. And on Wednesday, he became known as the first known trans person to argue before the Supreme Court.

Chase said, it is not lost on me. Then I’ll be standing there at the lectern at the Supreme Court in part because I was able to have access to the medical care that is the very subject of the case that we’re litigating.[00:06:00]

Now that’s a word, that’s a word. The second reason, in my opinion, this is a history making case. Is because if the justices rule the way in which most of us believe they will in favor of Tennessee’s law, we know how the Supreme Court is made up right now. They would be saying that trans folks are not protected by the constitution.

That would be what they’re declaring. They’re declaring that Tennessee’s ban is lawful and that it [00:06:30] would ultimately make the other 24 or so gender affirming healthcare bands across The country, mostly in Republican States, even more legitimate. This is crazy, scary. It’s crazy, scary. It is out of control.

It is. Terrifying. This is how our trans siblings become refugees in their own country. This is how it [00:07:00] happens. But when laws like this get ruled to be lawful, there’s nothing lawful about this. All of this is just transphobic hate. All the way to the top. Now, the Supreme Court won’t be ruling on this until June of 2025, so we just have to wait until the summer because that’s when they roll out their rulings.

So, family, it is not lost on me, and I’m sure it’s not lost on you, that this case is being held during one of the most politically charged anti [00:07:30] trans moments in our country’s history. I mean, right now this country’s president elect spent 215 million in anti trans ads to clinch his campaign. You understand what I’m saying?

215 million. I don’t know if you ever saw any of those ads. I’ll have to happen to be traveling. During that time in places that are not blue. Okay. And I, I saw some of the ads and they were disgusting. They were absolutely disgusting. And this is [00:08:00] the rhetoric people have been hearing. And so here we are, then we all know.

This won’t be the first time LGBTQ rights were denied by the highest court in the land. We also know it won’t be the first time that homophobia, transphobia, racism, right, has made its way to the highest court in the land and been found to be just. And let’s be clear in my humble opinion, if it’s not clear already, medical decisions should be left to the parents and [00:08:30] their doctors.

What in the world does government have to do? With a child’s decision that is made with their parents and their doctors, it ain’t none of they business. They are so concerned and it is none of their business. Family, you already know, I’m going to keep following this case. Yes, here on Queer News, I will keep you updated.

I’m looking. To see if I can land an interview [00:09:00] with Chase to get a quote from Raquel or Hope or other folks who were involved right in that moment, because we’re going to be able to mark this one down

because if it does pass in June of 2025, we definitely have decades and decades of work, right? And some of us may never live to see the reversal. [00:09:30] Of such a horrible, horrible decision.

Let me take a deep breath and let’s take a quick break, huh? And then we’ll be back with the interview of the day. Need health insurance? It’s open enrollment for the Get Covered Illinois Marketplace. Our navigators will help you enroll in a health plan and you could qualify for financial help. Visit GetCoveredIllinois.

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At e3radio. fm that’s info at e the number three radio dot FM. We have a platform. You should use it. [00:10:30] Family it’s gift giving season and sale has the perfect gift for you. I know you got somebody in your life interested in singing or playing the piano, getting into music. Well, get them some lessons for the holiday.

Sel is the teacher you need and he’s booking free sessions. I said free sessions to close out the year. Any student. That launches their lessons before 2025, we’ll have a permanent 20 percent discount. He said [00:11:00] permanent 20 percent discount on lessons moving forward, but you got to visit his website and sign up today.

It is keys for life, LLC. com. That’s keys for life, LLC. com. Get the perfect holiday gift today. I’m just saying family. Welcome back to the show now on to the interview of the day. Did y’all know there was a time when people living with HIV couldn’t serve in the armed forces? [00:11:30] Did y’all know that I did not know that until I received an email from Lambda Legal with a press release back in August that read, Victory!

Court strikes down military ban for people living with HIV. That’s right. This August, 2024. They just struck down this band. I looked at my email and I was like, what? Yeah. So if you want to go back through the archives, [00:12:00] okay. It’s the August 26th show. And this is another landmark case led. by Lambda Legal.

And this time, right, they won. And today you get to hear from one of the plaintiffs in this case, Isaiah Wilkins. He was the only one that was actually named in the case. So I had the opportunity to talk with him. with Isaiah. And his story is just so compelling. He comes from a [00:12:30] military family. He’s always wanted to serve in the military.

He got accepted into West Point and then everything changed. And you get to hear about it all during this interview. I really truly hope that you enjoy it and I’ll talk to y’all again next week. Peace. Family, it’s your favorite queer radio personality, Anna Deshaun, here with another exclusive interview for our Queer News Podcast.

[00:13:00] If you’ve been listening to the podcast, then you know I reported about a story that really blew me away, okay? I got the email from Lambda Legal talking about they won this historic case, and I began to read About how the department of defense was denying folks living with HIV, the opportunity to serve in our military.

And I was just blown away. I was like, how is this still happening? How is this still a thing? Today, I get to talk with one of the plaintiffs of this case that was brought by Lambda Legal and their [00:13:30] allies and associates. And I’m excited to talk to Isaiah about what all this has meant. So Isaiah, welcome to the queer news podcast.

Thank you very much. Absolutely. I appreciate you coming on and being down to share more of your story out here in the world with all of us to get started. I think it’s cool. We just get started by you telling us a little bit about yourself. So tell us who is Isaiah. I’m originally from Houston, Texas, but I’ve grown primarily up in [00:14:00] Georgia.

And I come from a family of a military service. That’s where it all started really. I would say just service in general. Uh, at least that’s how my story has kind of evolved. I enlisted at 17 into the national guard. I went to Georgia military college. And while there. My mentors and coaches and professors encouraged me to apply to West Point, and that was really always my goal.

[00:14:30] And I saw that and decided to pursue that. I applied to West Point and was accepted into the preparatory program. After you got into the preparatory program, tell us what happened next. Yeah, so because I was enlisted, it gets complicated, but because I was enlisted at the prep school, I had to be discharged from the National Guard and reenlist.

And so that required that I go through, uh, a standardized medical [00:15:00] procedure. Where I was diagnosed with HIV and, uh, I was brought in, uh, they diagnosed me and in the same conversation said that, Hey, the policy doesn’t allow for, for you to stay here. So go ahead and get ready to pack your bags and, and we’re going to send you home.

So when I was reading that, the first thing that popped in my mind was that’s one hell of a way to find out that you’re living with HIV. Can you take us back to that moment? Yeah, it [00:15:30] was, uh. It was quite the moment. That day was the end of a series of training events. And so it was like this culminating training event.

I remember very early in the morning, I was with my squad. We were going to go and complete a series of events. And you do them collectively. And at West Point, it’s led by fellow cadets. So an upperclassman had come up to me and said, Hey, you’re not going to participate in the event today. You have a [00:16:00] doctor’s appointment, which like it isn’t unusual to have a doctor’s appointment, but it was unusual to say that you’re not going to participate in this major training event.

You’re just going to sit here and wait. And I gave it, I was no, like the doctor’s appointment can wait. And then a senior enlisted personnel had come in and said, No, you’re not good. Come with me. And then we went through this kind of corridor hallways. I sat in a room for [00:16:30] several hours, just waiting several hours.

Yeah, it was probably a couple, probably two to three. And then a senior ranking officer came in and, and brought me back. It was, I went into the Commandant’s office and there waiting for me was a nurse and the director of the hospital at West Point. And they said, take a seat and said, do you remember going and getting a blood test when you came here?

I said, [00:17:00] yes, ma’am. And she said, you blood test came back positive for HIV. And it just was, it was just a moment. I broke down. I was, I told her I needed a moment and it was, yeah, I stepped out. It was, it was really emotional, obviously. Cause I knew the policy or maybe I assumed the policy. So I remember thinking to myself, Oh my God, I didn’t know much about HIV at the time.

I was like, my first question was like, Oh, is, am I going to die? [00:17:30] What’s going to happen? And then I was like, wait. Can I stay in the military? And so there was a lot and the doctor as gracefully as she could be explained that HIV is a manageable chronic illness and while it’s not life threatening, you can no longer be in the military.

That is a lot, Isaiah. That’s a lot. Especially because you’ve wanted to serve in the military really for your [00:18:00] whole life. I know you mentioned that your family is of military service and your mother, but this has always been a lifelong dream and for it to culminate in this moment. where you find out life changing information on this side.

And then on the other side, you also find out that maybe my dreams cannot be achieved. That’s a lot for anybody to take in at one time. And I’m sure things were running through your mind, all these thoughts, [00:18:30] maybe dreams deferred. How do you get from that moment to connecting with Lambda Legal and saying, I’m okay with putting my name on.

This lawsuit and I want to take on this fight when I looked up the policy, it was interesting when I was being discharged from the military, the policy at the time said that you can be in the military with HIV if you received your diagnosis [00:19:00] during your service. So if you joined the military, you didn’t have HIV, you obtained it at some point during your service, they weren’t going to kick you out.

The policy barred that from happening. And so, because I was enlisted in the National Guard, I just felt like they were interpreting the policy wrong. And I just started researching. And then I also thought, how can you say to somebody, Oh, this is a manageable chronic illness that you can take one pill a day for the rest of your life, but you got to get out.

I thought that was [00:19:30] insane. I just want you to know it is. Okay. And so I Googled HIV discrimination and found Lambda Legal and they have a help desk and I called the help desk and an attorney called me within 24 hours and I’m not going to get into the the legal strategy because that was well before we filed our lawsuit, but that’s when I first came into contact with Lambda and they [00:20:00] were litigating a case for Nick Harrison.

Got it. So you literally were like, this doesn’t feel right. I don’t think you’re interpreting this policy correctly. I’m Googling, I find Lambda legal and it was truly like a cold call situation. And then a lawyer reached back out to you. Yeah. I did a lot of research on a lot of different lawyers. Uh, just Lambda Legal seem like they have a track record of winning one and [00:20:30] representing people who are HIV positive and LGBTQ people.

Absolutely. A long history of it. Okay. And coming up with the wins on the other side. Absolutely. Yes. And so. You get connected with Lambda. We won’t get into the strategy of it all. But this case also, you’re being represented and also two folks who are choosing to remain anonymous are being represented in this case.

But your name is on the roll. What type of courage does that take? What made you decide to say, I want my name on the roll for this? [00:21:00] I think part of that is The history of cases before me, I mentioned Nick Harrison earlier. He was an active duty soldier. The military paid for him to go to law school and they denied him the ability to commission because during his medical process, he was diagnosed with HIV and Lambda Legal represented him and won his case.

I remember reading his case and thinking to myself, Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine like putting your name in a case. Putting all [00:21:30] of that out there. But then when, after several conversations with Lambda, when they asked if I was ready to file the lawsuit, I was at that point, I had gained some courage and I don’t know, maybe it’s part of just how I was raised.

I was like, yeah, we, I want them to know who I am. They’re going to know what happened. And so I think part of that courage comes from previous plaintiffs and just the champions that I stand on their shoulders. I feel like. And part of [00:22:00] that’s coming from my upbringing. It’s funny. A lot of people will say, describe it the way you just did with a lot of courage.

And I feel like it’s just me playing my part or doing, I felt like that was just the best choice in front of me at the time. That doesn’t take anything away from my fellow anonymous co players. Like everybody is in their space and they have to make the decision that’s best for them with kind of the cards that they have, the hand that they’re playing with.

I don’t want to [00:22:30] take away credit from them. It’s, I feel like in a lot of ways being a named plaintiff, I’ve been the face of the lawsuit in a lot of ways, but this is way more than just about me. It’s every person who’s living with HIV is what this case is about. Absolutely. And I’m so glad you said all of what you just said.

I think it’s really important because I also think we all can show up differently based upon our circumstances and based upon our privilege and based upon our social location. Like all these things are determinants for how we can show up in the world and [00:23:00] you and where you are today. You had and have the ability to put your name on the roll, and for that, many people will be grateful.

I’m sure of it. Now, I want to get this quote correct, because you said it. Uh, you said, A dream delayed is better than a dream denied. Now, it took two years for you all to get this verdict. Is that still how you feel today? Oh yeah, absolutely. Um, it’s, [00:23:30] yeah, it took us two years to get this verdict. The discharge occurred, I don’t, I don’t know.

Couldn’t even tell you how long ago now. I feel I think six years ago, maybe now. And yeah, I do feel that way. I think it’s an amazing opportunity and I’ve doubled down on my commitment to rejoin the military. There are a couple of different paths ahead of us and we’re going to work that out. But I do absolutely feel that way.

And so that leads us to my next question, which is what’s next for you. So is the [00:24:00] next thing to rejoin the military? Yeah, absolutely. I’m going to find a path. My goal is to commission and yeah, I’m just going to double down on my commitment to serve. I’m also curious as to why military service was the dream.

What, why is it important for you to continue the legacy of service in this way? It’s a, it’s a good question. I, I think that there are a lot of different ways to serve. I think everybody serves in their own capacity, right? Mm-hmm. Like military service or [00:24:30] currently I work in law enforcement, military service.

Those aren’t just being a waiter at a restaurant is, is a way to serve, right? And so I want to acknowledge that before I say, oh, I was just dedicated to serving. I think everybody serves in their own capacity and in their own way. I just think that was an environment that I’d been introduced to from a very young age.

I was put in a program called the U. S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, which is like ROTC. And I started that when I was like 12. So the military [00:25:00] environment, was something that I was always familiar with. I saw my mom’s uniforms around the house. And so there’s just something I think that I was enfranchised in.

And then I was also raised that, Hey, if you do something, you do your absolute very best. And so that’s where the West Point thing came in. Cause my mom, Was like, you’re not going to be enlisted like me, you know, like you’re going to go and get a degree and we’ll have the military pay for it and you are going to go conquer the world.

And I’m like, yeah, I like the sound of [00:25:30] that. And she, and then she showed me the service Academy website. And I remember just like looking at the pictures of West Point and being like, Oh my gosh. And looking at the people who, the alumni from West Point and just very, that’s what I want to do. And it’s something that speaks to you.

Yeah. Something that speaks to me. Yeah. Yeah. And I agree. I believe all of us are here doing some type of service. I think it was Muhammad Ali that says, like, we got to pay some rent here and right. And being of service on this planet is how we can [00:26:00] pay some rent around here for the time and space that we take up.

And so I say before, before we end the interview, I’m so curious, have you found the support that you need to get through this? It has taken two years. It’s been six years since you’ve been discharged, right? You’ve been living a lot of life. In between that time and now, have you gotten the support you need to get through?

Yeah, absolutely. I have a very close group of people. I have my partner, Sebastian, we’ve been together for four [00:26:30] years. I have really small group of core friends that I lean on. That have just been there every step of the way. I love to hear that. It’s not easy being queer out here in the world. It’s not easy being a queer person of color out here in the world, Chile.

You are also a person living with HIV who also is looking to serve in the military who’s just gone through a very public case and a historic one at that. So it takes a lot of courage to be you out here in the world today, given the political [00:27:00] climate, and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Thank you so much for having me on.

And it, it wouldn’t be possible without people like you. I just do my part the way you said We do, we, we all of doing a service in one way or another. This is the way I do service. Um, and how I can give back to the community and I’ll take this moment to say thank you to all who have chosen to serve Chile.

It ain’t my calling. Okay. But I am grateful that someone, somewhere has taken on the call to serve [00:27:30] in the military. So Isaiah, thank you for joining us. And family, this is what we do right here on E3 Radio, because we are Queer News Done Right.

If you’ve enjoyed what you [00:28:00] heard, rate and review us inside your favorite podcasting app. This podcast is written and produced by me, Anna Deshawn, podcast editing by Ryan Woodhull, and brought to you by E3 radio and distributed on theCube. We are Queer News Done Right.