President Joe Biden will issue a proclamation granting pardons to potentially thousands of former U.S. service members persecuted under a Cold War-era law that banned consensual sex between gay couples, as reported by the Associated Press. In doing so, Biden says he is "righting a historical wrong" by reversing a policy that may have purged as many as 100,000 people from the armed forces and denied them veterans' benefits.
Biden's pardon comes towards the end of Pride Month and marks the third mass pardon issued during his presidency. In 2022 and 2023, he granted clemency to people convicted at the federal level for possessing marijuana.
Under Biden's proclamation, eligible service members will be able to apply to seek a review of their discharges and recover back pay and veterans' benefits. It's unclear exactly who or how many veterans will have that option.
Officials told the AP that most of them were convicted prior to the now-repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of 1993 that allowed people to serve in the military if they remained silent about their sexual orientation. Service members convicted of non-consensual acts will not be covered by Biden's pardon.
The pardoned offenses largely fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s former Article 125, which prohibited “unnatural carnal copulation” and was effective from 1951 to 2013.
“We have a sacred obligation to all of our service members — including our brave LGBTQI+ service members: to properly prepare and equip them when they are sent into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home," Biden said in a statement. "Today we are making progress in that pursuit.”
White House officials said that Biden's decision was not driven by electoral concerns. Nevertheless, it could put his position in sharp relief with that of the Republican Party, which has been doubling down on anti-gay measures across the country.
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