Biden pardons US troops convicted in gay sex ban

White House decorated for LGBTQ+ pride event — An estimated 2,000 former military personnel may now be eligible for withheld federal benefits

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

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.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.