Whereas Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is posting weird movies wishing for a return to the violent masculinity that introduced us the Vietnam Battle, the Biden-Harris administration has scored one other huge win for LGBTQ+ justice.
Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin introduced on Tuesday that greater than 800 former service members discharged beneath the homophobic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” coverage have had their standing upgraded to “honorable discharge” after a yearlong evaluate.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” affected greater than 13,000 army members through the 17 years it was in impact and barred brazenly homosexual folks from serving. In response to Christa A. Specht, a authorized coverage director on the Pentagon, whereas most of these members got honorable discharges, “nearly 2,000 were separated with less than fully honorable characterizations.”
Whereas lots of these affected by the coverage appealed for an improve after the coverage was reversed in 2011, others doubtless didn’t know that was an possibility and didn’t apply. Austin introduced in September 2023 that the Pentagon would be reviewing the remaining instances so as to “do right by our outstanding service members, military families, and civilian employees.” In response to Austin, 96.8% of the instances reviewed obtained an improve to their standing.
“We’re encouraging anyone who still believes that there is something in their military record that is an error or an injustice—in particular, service members who might have been impacted by records that predate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell who were separated for their sexual orientation—to come forward and request relief through the boards,” Specht mentioned. “They have a high chance of success.”
In the meantime, the Trump administration’s most notable achievement relating to the LGBTQ+ group was banning transgender service members from the army. That bigoted ban was lifted by Joe Biden in 2020, simply days after he was sworn in as president.
Trump and his MAGA brethren proceed to make use of anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry as a political instrument to incite essentially the most ignorant members of their base. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville was prepared to punish army service members and their households, blocking top-level army promotions and confirmations for many of 2023, in an unpopular assault on what he and Trump deemed the “woke military.”
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was signed into legislation by President Invoice Clinton in 1994 as a compromise with hard-liners who wished all LGBTQ+ folks banned from army service. Advocates continued to struggle towards the coverage for years earlier than it was repealed throughout President Barack Obama’s administration in 2011.
For all his speak about how his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris threatens our nation’s “freedom,” the fact is that one other Trump administration would imply clawing again human and civil rights—and fewer freedom for all Individuals.
Assist guarantee our freedom by serving to Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump this November!
