Joe Biden has moved to correct a “great injustice” by pardoning thousands of US veterans convicted over six decades under a military law that banned gay sex.

The presidential proclamation, which comes during Pride month and an election year, allows LGBTQ+ service members convicted of crimes based solely on their sexual orientation to apply for a certificate of pardon that will help them receive withheld benefits.

It grants clemency to service members convicted under Uniform Code of Military Justice article 125 – which criminalised sodomy, including between consenting adults – between 1951 and 2013, when it was rewritten by Congress.

That includes victims of the 1950s “lavender scare”, a witch-hunt in which many LGBTQ+ people employed by the federal government were viewed as security risks amid fears their sexual orientation made them vulnerable to blackmail. Thousands were investigated and fired or denied employment.

  • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I have tens of thousands in student loans for a job that my state made illegal for trans people to have 2 years after I graduated lol

    • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      by january that will have happened to me twice because of executive order 10450 and a new law that congress and biden passed recently.

      are you me, but younger?