What happened
President Joe Biden on Wednesday pardoned thousands of U.S. veterans convicted for consensual gay sex between 1951 and 2013, when sodomy was banned under military law. An estimated 2,000 former military personnel are eligible to have their dismissals upgraded to honorable discharges, opening the door to withheld federal benefits.
Who said what
Biden said he was "righting an historic wrong" by pardoning "many former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves." Despite their "courage and sacrifice," he said on X, "thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military," some via court-martial, and made to shoulder "this great injustice for decades."
LGBTQ+ advocates cheered Biden's clemency but said the burden of cleaning the records shouldn't be on the veterans. Former U.S. Air Force officer Steve Marose said to the BBC he was "just glad the day has come," as his late 1980s felony sodomy conviction and discharge have cost him jobs and "kind of just hangs over me."
What next?
Although the pardon proclamation affects "potentially thousands of veterans," The Associated Press said, "it's not clear whether the government will try to find a way to compensate" them for lost benefits, back pay or restitution.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Jasveen Sangha and the ketamine 'Wild West' of HollywoodIn The Spotlight Arrest of the 'ketamine queen' accused of supplying Friends star Matthew Perry with deadly dose has turned spotlight on a showbiz drug problem
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentaryThe Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatmentUnder the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Inflation derailed Biden. Is Trump next?Today's Big Question 'Financial anxiety' rises among voters
-
The red state push to join the DC occupationIN THE SPOTLIGHT Republican governors are increasingly eager to volunteer their state's National Guard troops for Trump's ostensibly anti-crime siege of the nation's capital
-
'E-bikes have made our lives more complicated'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Recreation or addiction? Military base slot machines rake in millions.Under the Radar There are several thousand slot machines on military bases
-
The Pentagon's missing missilesFeature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
'We should all ask ourselves: When we laugh, who's hurting?'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'We know these services are needed'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
