Ben Margot / AP
American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project senior staff attorney Ariela Migdal, right, gestures while speaking beside ACLU attorney Elizabeth Gill, left, during a media conference Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, in San Francisco. Plaintiffs also present for the conference, background L-R, U.S. Army reserve Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt, U.S. Marine Corps reserve Capt. Zoe Bedell, and U.S. Marine Corps First Lt. Colleen Farrell. Several active-duty women military personnel have filed a federal lawsuit to demand combat action, requesting all branches of the military to remove the so-called combat exclusionary rule that bars women from fighting on the front lines. This suit, to be filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, is believed to be the first involving active-duty military personnel.
Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 | 12:21 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO — Four female military service members have filed a lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday and is the second such federal challenge filed by female service members this year.
The latest demands the lifting of the military's so-called combat exclusionary policy that applies to all women.
The lawsuit alleges the ban on a single gender violates constitutional equal protection rights and unfairly blocks women from promotions and other advancements open to men in combat.
Further, the lawsuit alleges that women are already serving unofficially in combat units.
Two of the four women who filed the lawsuit have received Purple Heart medals for injuries sustained in Afghanistan. The women are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
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