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.

  • ShaggySnacks
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    3 days ago

    Have you ever joined a British mob? They are quite orderly. The British will line up in a queue to take turns with goals of the mob.

    • Chaotic Entropy@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      3 days ago

      A British mob in my eyes would be the sort that forms after a football game and smashes shit up. There would be an alternative name for the fancier kind.

      • ShaggySnacks
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        3 days ago

        What about a Queue Mob?

        Simple, tells you that they like to line up, and probably very orderly.