President Joe Biden made history on June 26, 2024, by granting pardons to thousands of former US service members who were convicted under the now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex. The pardons came as a significant step towards justice and equality for these brave individuals who were punished simply for being themselves.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice's Article 125, which criminalized sodomy, was in place from 1951 to 2013. During this period, an estimated 100,000 service members were discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these individuals faced court-martial and carried the burden of this great injustice for decades.
Biden's use of his clemency powers is a symbolic effort to correct for an era when military prosecutors enforced Article 125, which prohibited gay sex. The practical impact of offering clemency to people who were convicted is that it could allow veterans to take advantage of benefits they have been denied, such as military pensions, home loans, and college tuition benefits.
However, veterans will not automatically have their convictions wiped. They will need to apply for a certificate of pardon and go through a military approval process. Once they receive the certificate of pardon, they can then apply to have their discharge characterization changed with the relevant military branch, which could unlock access to critical benefits.
The announcement comes during Pride Month and follows multiple other efforts since 2012 to address the injustices endured by LGBTQ service members. For example, since 2012, service members who were kicked out have been able to apply to a military board for a chance to have official records upgraded. However, only one-in-four eligible veterans has done so.
In 2023, the Biden administration announced that the military would for the first time begin proactively reviewing discharge records to identify and help those who were kicked out and have not come forward. But this required veterans to apply for their records to be altered.
Veteran advocates have criticized application-based relief as too obstructive, putting the onus on veterans to fix the military's wrongs and limiting the reach of the policy.
Biden had previously ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to move to provide benefits to service members who were other than honorably discharged because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.
