WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned potentially thousands of former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex, saying Wednesday that he is “righting an historic wrong” to clear the way for them to regain lost benefits. Biden’s action grants a pardon to service members who were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s former Article 125, which criminalized sodomy. Advertisement“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,” Biden said in a statement. Modern Military, the nation’s largest organization of LGBTQ+ service members and their families, said the decision was “historic step towards justice and equality,” and called on the miliary to approve the pardons quickly. Service members convicted of nonconsensual acts are not covered by Biden’s pardon action.

Source: Huffington Post June 27, 2024 01:42 UTC