The Pentagon agreed to a historic class-action settlement this week that will give over 35,000 LGBTQ+ veterans access to benefits they were previously denied because of the Defense Department's policies like "don't ask, don't tell."
Veterans were dismissed under the policies due to their sexual orientation without an honorable discharge. That means they weren't able to reenlist or qualify for certain veterans' benefits.
The agreement, if finalized, will allow eligible LGBTQ+ veterans discharged between 1980 and 2011 to receive an immediate review and an upgrade to an honorable discharge, as well as request to have “discriminatory sexual orientation indicators” in their files removed.
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“This new process allows veterans to opt-in to a group review process without having to complete an entire application or wait to receive their military records,” the department said in a press release. “This will simplify and expedite the process, offering veterans a clear pathway to remove discriminatory sexual orientation indicators from their discharge papers, update reenlistment codes from RE-4 to RE-1, and seek an upgrade to an Honorable discharge.”
The 1951 Uniform Code of Military Justice's Article 125 had criminalized consensual gay sex. In 1993, former President Bill Clinton modified the military's policy to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allowed LGBTQ troops to serve in the armed forces if they didn’t disclose their sexual orientation.
That policy was repealed in 2011, when Congress allowed for their open service in the military. The 1951 UCMJ code was modified in 2013 to be limited to nonconsensual gay sex.
President Joe Biden in June announced he was issuing pardons to service members convicted under repealed military policies.
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