Equality Caucus Applauds President Biden’s Pardon of Wrongly-Convicted LGBTQI+ Veterans
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Rep. Mark Pocan, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, released the following statement following President Biden’s proclamation on granting pardons to veterans convicted of unaggravated offenses based on consensual, private conduct:
“I thank President Biden for taking this important step to right the wrongs of the past and restore honor to LGBTQI+ Americans who bravely served their nation in uniform,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “This is an important step forward in addressing the wrongs of anti-equality policies like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and I urge the Military Departments to ensure these pardons are processed as swiftly as possible. I am committed to building upon this important action, including by passing my Restore Honor to Service Members Act into law to ensure that the service and sacrifice of every veteran is honored, regardless of who they are or who they love.”
BACKGROUND
Since World War II, more than 100,000 Americans are estimated to have been discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. Those forced out of the military may have left with discharge statuses of "other than honorable," "general discharge" or "dishonorable," depending on the circumstances. As a consequence, many of these service members may be disqualified from accessing certain benefits that they earned and are entitled to, and may not be able to claim veteran status. The consequences of a negative discharge also include preventing some veterans from voting or making it more difficult for them to acquire civilian employment.
On June 26, 2024, President Biden issued a proclamation granting a full, complete and unconditional pardon to individuals with court-martial convictions for violations of former Article 125 of the UCMJ based on conduct that involved consensual, private conduct with persons age 18 and older. Under the process announced today, each Military Department shall provide information about the application procedures for certificates of pardon, and if the Department determines an applicant satisfies the criteria under the proclamation, the Attorney General will issue a certificate of pardon along with information to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.
H.R. 6470, the Restore Honor to Service Members Act (RHSA), led by CEC Chair Pocan, would establish tiger teams to conduct outreach to veterans discharged under discriminatory policies to build awareness of the process established under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 10 U.S.C. 1552 note) to get their discharge characterizations upgraded. The Restore Honor to Service Members Act was included in the Senate version of the FY 24 NDAA, but House Republicans removed the provision in conference, so it was not included in the final FY 24 NDAA.