US President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands of veterans who, over six decades, were convicted of crimes under an military law that banned gay sex.
The veterans were convicted under a provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which criminalised sodomy from 1951 to 2013.
That part of the provision was repealed by the US Congress at that time.
Mr Biden described the move as “righting an historic wrong” in a Wednesday statement.
In his statement, Mr Biden said he is “using [his] 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 LGBTQ+ 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,” he said.
US media reports that some 2,000 people could be granted clemency under the president’s proclamation.
Consensual “sodomy” was illegal among US military members until former President Barack Obama decriminalised same-sex relationships through the National Defense Authorization Act a decade ago.
The proclamation will allow those affected to apply for a certificate of pardon to change their discharge status, which will help them receive withheld benefits.
If their status is changed, they will be eligible for veteran benefits that may have previously been denied, though it is unclear how long the process will take.
This military provision is separate from the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” President Bill Clinton-era policy, which banned openly gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the military.
That was repealed by Mr Obama in 2011, and allowed gay and lesbian service members to serve openly in the armed forces.
A CBS News report found an estimated 100,000 LGBT military members were kicked out of the US military between World War II and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.
There are approximately 79,000 LGBT individuals serving in the US military as of 2022, according to a Center for American Progress analysis.
