'Those codes were extremely destructive' | President Biden pardons LGBTQ veterans convicted over sexual orientation
An estimated 100,000 LGBTQ former service members were discharged for criminalized sexual orientation.
HOUSTON — President Joe Biden says he's "righting a historic wrong" by using his power to pardon to offer clemency to an estimated 100,000 LGBTQ former service members discharged for their sexual orientation.
The move means complete unconditional pardons for those convicted for consensual private conduct. It's expected to impact people who served between 1951 and 2013. Advocates KHOU 11 News spoke to say these discharges tied to sexual orientation were destructive and caused long-lasting trauma.
American Veterans for Equal Rights is one of the oldest LGBTQ service organizations. Veteran Danny Ingram with the Texas Lone Star chapter said Biden's move is a good one for thousands of vets.
"It's a good step forward and we're happy that the President took this action," Ingram said.
Between May 1951 to December 2013, Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice criminalized consensual sexual acts between same-sex service members.
They faced court martial, jail time and a dishonorable discharge. Sometimes, their discharge papers bore the label: sexual perversion.
"Those codes were extremely destructive to someone's life and have caused tremendous trauma for veterans and service members," said Ingram.
Today, Ingram is an advocate, but his work is personal. It began when he was discharged from the Army in the 90s under the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.
"I made a statement when Bill Clinton had announced he was going to lift the band. I joined other members of the military in coming out in order to add pressure to that decision," he said.
President Biden's decision this week isn't automatic. Those impacted still need to apply through their service branch.
Once the criteria is satisfied, they'll be issued a certificate of pardon. Then, they'll be allowed to apply for an upgraded military discharge and then apply for veteran benefits and back pay.
"This wasn't just dishonorable discharge from the military also meant that they were no longer able to access veterans benefits their families could not access those benefits," said Austin Davis Ruiz with the Houston LGBTQ Political Caucus.
He said this is another step in the fight to gain equal rights. In addition to the president's actions, it's important to look at making changes to federal law.
"It is giving them the opportunity to correct the errors of the past to possibly get some type of future restitution," he said.
It's unclear how long this pardon process will take for individual veterans, but each branch is supposed to be sharing information on how to complete it.
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