President Joe Biden will use his clemency powers to pardon service members who were convicted under a now-defunct Uniform Code of Military Justice provision that barred gay sex for more than six decades, according to the White House.
The pardons could potentially affect thousands of veterans who were punished for consensual sex under the military law beginning in the 1950s and eventually allow them access to benefits they have been denied. The pardons will permit them to apply to the military to have discharge characterizations changed.
“We have a sacred obligation to all of our service members — including our brave LGBTQ+ 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 issued by the White House. “Today, we are making progress in that pursuit.”
The Biden administration will now pardon any service member who was convicted under the sodomy law — known as Article 125 — of the UCMJ between 1951 and December 2013.
At that time, the UCMJ broadly defined sodomy as “unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal.” The law was finally reformed by Congress in 2013.
“The administration estimates that there are thousands of individuals who are convicted of consensual conduct under the UCMJ provision 125, and who may therefore be eligible for the pardon,” a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday evening.
CNN, which was the first to report the news Tuesday, reported that anyone who was convicted of a nonconsensual act such as rape will not be pardoned.
Officials, who briefed the press on condition of anonymity, said that, once the pardon is issued, veterans will be able to apply and receive a certificate of pardon that they can, in turn, submit to their relevant military branch to have their discharge characterization changed.
That change can then potentially unlock a multitude of benefits for veterans, including Department of Veterans Affairs home loans, military pensions and educational benefits. . . . . (read more)
Biden issues clemency for gay military service members despite voting for ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ in 1993 (Fox News, 26 Jun 24)
Biden’s action could restore benefits potentially to thousands of LGBTQI+ former service members and comes during Pride month
President Biden on Wednesday pardoned former U.S. service members who were dishonorably discharged after their conviction for violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.
Biden’s action grants a pardon to service members who were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s former Article 125, which criminalized sodomy. The law, which has been on the books since 1951, was rewritten in 2013 to prohibit only forcible acts.
Those covered by the pardon will be able to apply to receive proof that their conviction has been erased, petition to have their discharges from the military upgraded and move to recover lost pay and benefits. . . .
Leave a Comment