John Plahovinsak
On June 26, 2024, President Joe Biden granted full, complete, and unconditional pardon to former service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual sex.
The military ban was imposed under former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The ban, which has been on the books since 1951, was rewritten in 2013 to prohibit only forcible acts.
Those covered by the pardon will be able to apply to receive proof that their conviction has been erased, petition to have their discharges from the military upgraded and move to recover lost pay and benefits.
The White House estimates that several thousand service members will be covered. A majority of the service members were convicted before the military instituted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1993.
That policy eased the way for LGBTQ+ troops to serve if they didn’t disclose their sexual orientation. That policy was repealed in 2011 when Congress allowed for their open service in the military.
However, CBS News reported in 2023 that the population of LGBTQ+ service members who were denied an honorable discharge numbers more than 29,000 former service members.
In September of 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced it would begin “proactively” reviewing the discharges of LGBTQ+ veterans who were removed from the military before 2010, when the policy that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” was repealed.
A DoD official told CBS News in December of 2023 that it has already begun the process of reviewing records of some 2,000 veterans for potential discharge upgrade eligibility.
The DoD action means that these veterans seeking a discharge upgrade would not have to apply for the upgrade themselves, a process that both veterans and experts say is often unsuccessful without the help of a lawyer.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the actions were a step in the “march towards greater equality” and “correct a historic wrong for LGBTQ+ Americans who served bravely in our armed forces to keep our country safe.”
In his June 26, 2024 statement, President Biden said, “Today, I am righting an historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves.”
“We have a sacred obligation to all of our service members –- including our brave LGBTQI+ service members: to properly prepare and equip them when they are sent into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home,” stated the President. “Today we are making progress in that pursuit.”
According to the pardon, service members convicted of nonconsensual acts are not covered by the pardon action.
Those service members convicted under other articles of the military justice code, which may have been used as a pretext to punish or force out LGBTQ+ troops, would need to request clemency through the normal Department of Justice pardon process.
A veteran, for a certificate of pardon under the June 26, 2024 proclamation, is required to apply to the Military Department (Army, Navy, or Air Force) that conducted the court-martial. The specific Department, following a review of relevant military justice records, must determine that the veteran satisfies the criteria under the proclamation.
The specific Department will then submit that determination to the Attorney General, acting through the Pardon Attorney, who will then issue a certificate of pardon along with information on the process to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.
The Biden Administration strongly encourages veterans, who receive a certificate of pardon, to apply for an upgrade of military discharge.
My Opinion: An effective fighting force is made up of several kinds of people working together as a team. One of the highly decorated military units in World War II was the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT).
The 442nd RCT earned over 14,000 awards, including 4,000 Purple Hearts. They were composed of mostly second-generation Japanese Americans, who volunteered to fight in World War II.
There were some people who said that allowing African Americans into the military would degrade the military service. African Americans fought valiantly in both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
During World War I, their units, like the Harlem Hellfighters, were assigned to only French Army units. During World War II, African American soldiers kept the “Red Ball Express” in 1944 going. Those people talking about African Americans degrading the military service were wrong.
There were some people who said letting women into the military would degrade the military service. Today, women veterans constitute a significant percentage of our Armed Forces. Those people talking about women degrading the military service were wrong.
Conscription, also known as the military draft, ended in 1973 and we are a volunteer force. Those serving in the armed forces voluntarily joined. The veterans who were unjustly deprived of their rights and benefits should have, and did on June 26, 2024, have them restored with the pardon.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a 32-year retired Army veteran, who served 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and Chapter #63 (Clermont County) Adjutant. He can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.