The president of the United States, Joe Biden, pardoned soldiers convicted of the already repealed “sodomy law” that criminalized consensual homosexual relations. Biden’s measure benefits members of the Armed Forces who had received sentences under the former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
This article, which prohibited any type of sexual interaction between two people of the same sex, was applied from 1951 until 2013, when it was changed to criminalize only non-consensual relations.
Biden’s pardon could benefit thousands of veterans who were convicted of consensual sexual relations during the 62 years it was in effect.
“A historical mistake”
Specifically, those affected will be able to request the Army to change the conditions of their retirement, which will allow them to access benefits that had been denied to them to date.
Those covered by the pardon may request proof of the annulment of their sentence, an improvement in their military leave record and the return of the part of the pay and benefits that had not been granted to them.
“Today I am righting a historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former military personnel who were convicted simply for being themselves,” Biden announced in a statement.
And he added that US authorities have “a sacred obligation to all of our military, including our brave LGBTQI+ soldiers: to properly prepare and equip them when they are sent to dangerous places, and to care for them and their families when they return home.”
Several thousand military and former military personnel will benefit from the measure, according to the White House.
Many of them would have received sentences before 1993, when the Armed Forces implemented the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1993.
This policy, which allowed homosexuals to enlist if they did not reveal their sexual orientation, was repealed in 2011 when Congress authorized the entry of LGBT+ people.
Pride and the campaign
Biden’s pardon does not benefit people convicted of non-consensual sexual acts.
The president had previously asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase benefits to those soldiers who had not been honorably discharged because they were homosexual or HIV positive.
This is the third collective pardon that the president has granted in his more than three years in office.
Biden has already enacted two other pardons in 2022 and 2023 that benefited people convicted with federal sentences for cannabis possession.
The measure announced by the president coincides with pride month and was announced shortly before International LGBT+ Pride Day on June 28.
A report published by BBC US partner CBS News found that approximately 100,000 LGBT+ service members were expelled from the US Armed Forces between World War II and the repeal of the “Don’t Ask” law. , Do not say”.
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