Judge approves Pentagon's settlement with LGBTQ veterans over discharge status
The agreement could affect tens of thousands of veterans who were discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" and similar policies.
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NBC News - Jo Yurcaba and Brooke Sopelsa
March 13, 2025, 4:26 PM MDT

A federal judge gave final approval Wednesday to a class-action settlement between the Defense Department and LGBTQ veterans who were discharged because of their sexual orientation under "don't ask, don't tell" and similar earlier policies.

The settlement could affect the more than 35,000 veterans discharged between 1980 and 2011,  "because of real or perceived homosexuality, homosexual conduct, sexual perversion, or any other related reason," according to court documents.

A group of veterans filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in August 2023, alleging that the effects of "don't ask, don't tell" — which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and was in effect from 1994 to 2011 — violated their constitutional rights.

The agreement, which was reached in January, will allow veterans who received a less than honorable discharge because of their sexual orientation to be eligible for an immediate review and an upgrade to an honorable discharge. Veterans who received an honorable discharge, but whose discharge form states that they separated from the armed services because of their sexual orientation, will be able to have that characterization removed from the form within months.

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On one hand, we have people being discharged for being transgender, and on the other, we have veterans getting their discharges upgraded for being gay. I suspect that in the future, there will be another class-action lawsuit to correct today's policy of discharging transgender military members.

I remember as a young second lieutenant in Germany in the late 70s having to escort a young Specialist through his outprocessing. He was being discharged for being gay. Now I watch as the same language is being used to paint the transgender population as being unreliable and not able to serve with honor and distinction. Once again, we take a huge step backwards.

I remember those days well. A good friend of mine was accused of being a homosexual. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. I honestly don't know and don't care. But I was called as a witness at his court-martial. I like to believe that I helpful in him being acquitted of all charges.