President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will use his pardon power to pardon former service members convicted of crimes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Biden will issue a proclamation pardoning veterans convicted under a provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that bans gay sex, senior administration officials said on a call with reporters.
Service members who meet certain eligibility requirements can obtain pardon certificates and apply to have the characteristics of their discharge changed within their branches, officials said.
Biden said the action was aimed at “righting a historic injustice” for many former service members who faced convictions “just for being themselves.”
“Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members have been forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these patriotic Americans were court-martialled and bore the burden of this great injustice for decades,” Biden said in a statement. “This is about dignity, decency and ensuring that the culture of our armed forces reflects the values that make us an exceptional nation.”
The pardon would apply to any qualifying conviction from 1951 through 2013, when Congress rewrote Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which criminalized sodomy.
Government officials did not specify how many former service members would be involved, but they estimated that “thousands” were convicted under the provision, which required anyone found guilty of sodomy to be punished as prescribed by court-martial. The promotion would also apply to deceased persons.
Biden’s reelection campaign has sought to shore up support from LGBTQ voters during National Pride Month as some of his allies worry about declining support. A poll conducted in January by the advocacy group GLAAD found that 68% of LGBTQ registered voters supported Biden and 15% supported former voters. President Donald Trump.
Biden and Trump have contrasting records on LGBTQ protections.
During his first days as president, Biden signed an executive order rescinding a Trump-era ban on transgender people serving openly in the military.
In 2019, Trump rolled back Obama-era health care protections for transgender people and opposed the Equality Act, legislation to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity that won Biden’s support on the 2020 campaign trail and that he promised during his campaign to give priority. first 100 days. The measure did not pass in the Senate after the House of Representatives approved it in 2021.
Trump did not recognize Pride Month for the first two years of his term, but in 2019 he became the first Republican president to recognize Pride Month, honoring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York, after President Bill Clinton voted for it in 1999 first recognized Pride Month.
Trump has said that if elected in November, he plans to roll back government programs to protect the rights of transgender people and punish doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
