Headline Roundup • June 27th, 2024
Biden Pardons LGBTQ Service Members Discharged Over Sexual Orientation
Summary from the AllSides News Team
President Biden offered clemency to LGBTQ service members who were discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation.
Details: The clemency will allow affected veterans to upgrade their discharge paperwork from dishonorable to honorable and apply for lost benefits, thereby erasing negative service records that have had lasting impacts on their lives. Biden’s pardon comes during Pride Month and covers veterans expelled from the military under policies like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a policy passed in the early 1990s that Biden voted for at the time. Nonetheless, he and former President Barack Obama played significant roles in repealing the policy in 2011.
Key Quotes: In a White House statement, Biden said, “As Commander in Chief, I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world. That means making sure that every member of our military feels safe and respected,” adding, “Although the pardon under this proclamation applies only to the convictions described above, there are other LGBTQI+ individuals who served our Nation and were convicted of other crimes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is the policy of my Administration to expeditiously consider and to make final pardon determinations with respect to such individuals.”
How the Media Covered It: CBS News (Lean Left bias) highlighted the positivity and relief that members of the armed forces experienced following the announcement. Fox News (Right bias) presented their coverage with a focus on Biden's previous support of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” in 1993. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
President Biden's decision to pardon LGBTQ+ servicemembers convicted for their sexual orientation is being celebrated by members of the armed forces in Massachusetts.
Discharged over a joke
For U.S. Navy veteran Allie Thorpe, it started with an off the cuff joke about calling out of work.
"I made a joke that I was going to call in gay. Instead of laughing, she followed that with a bunch of questions," said Thorpe, who was interrogated by their fellow servicemember and forced to address their sexuality in 2006. Her fellow U.S. Navy...
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Steve Marose, a former US Air Force officer who was discharged for being gay and who served prison time for consensual sodomy, said he had long hoped that one day he would be pardoned.
"I can pretend that 'Oh, I'm resilient,' you know, 'I got this,' but in the end, it's trauma," Mr Marose told the BBC.
He is one of thousands whose convictions were overturned on Wednesday, after US President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon those found guilty of crimes under a military law that banned gay...
Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President Biden on Wednesday pardoned former U.S. service members who were dishonorably discharged after their conviction for violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.
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. The law, which has been on the books since 1951, was rewritten in 2013 to prohibit only forcible acts.
Those covered by the pardon will be able to apply to receive proof that their conviction has been erased, petition to...
