Months After Biden’s Promise to Pardon Thousands of LGBTQ Veterans, Only 8 Have

[Lori Dee]

Months After Biden's Promise to Pardon Thousands of LGBTQ Veterans, Only 8 Have Applied
Link to Full Article
Military.com - The War Horse By Anne Marshall-Chalmers
Published September 26, 2024 at 5:06pm ET

The White House claimed that "thousands" of veterans could benefit when President Biden announced this summer he was issuing pardons to gay veterans who were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation "and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades."

... three months later, only eight veterans have applied for pardons...

The dismally low numbers are disappointing advocates who say the promise of Biden's pardons raised hopes that thousands of LGBTQ veterans would not only lose the stigma of courts-martial but also qualify for long-denied veterans benefits.

Steve Marose, an Air Force veteran who lives in Seattle, is among the eight who've applied, and his case is still under review.

Marose said he was shocked by the response and wondered if the pardons' limitations have discouraged other veterans. Only those convicted in a military court of consensual sodomy qualify, but experts say many LGBTQ veterans were forced from the military for decades simply under the threat of a court-martial.

"It sounds like it's very broad, that thousands of people will be positively impacted," Marose says. "When you look under the hood," he said, it seems doubtful that such a large number of veterans will benefit.

----------