Biden slammed as he pardons military vets convicted for sexual orientation after supporting ban in 1990s

WASHINGTON, DC: President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of US veterans, who were discharged or convicted under a years-old military law that banned gay sex.

On Tuesday, June 25, Biden said, "Today, I am righting a historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves," as per The Guardian. 

The presidential proclamation will allow LGBTQ+ service members who have been convicted of crimes solely because of their sexual orientation to apply for a certificate of pardon, helping them to obtain withheld benefits.

President Joe Biden accepts the injustice toward LGBTQ+ veterans

Biden continued, "Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQ+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these patriotic Americans were subject to court-martial, and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades." 

He said the step, which comes during the Pride Month, was about "dignity" and "decency" and ensuring the military’s culture reflects that of the nation.

The presidential proclamation will grant clemency to military personnel convicted under Uniform Code of Military Justice article 125, which criminalized sodomy, including between consenting adults, from 1951 to 2013.

In 2013, Congress rewrote the law to lift the military's ban on consensual gay sex.

On a call with reporters, a senior official of the Biden administration said, "If you think about the historical periods where LGBTQ+ individuals were purged from the federal government more generally, in the parallel military realm that was also occurring during the lavender scare, and so the convictions from those eras are indeed covered by this proclamation." 

President Joe Biden voted in favor of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in 1993 

However, decades ago in 1993, Biden was one of the Senate Democrats who voted in support of the legislation that codified the final iteration of the Pentagon’s ban on gay, lesbian, and bisexual personnel, known as the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)" policy, which, despite its name, permitted service members to be dismissed and punished if they were outed against their will.

The policy officially ended on September 20, 2011, during Barack Obama's presidency, when Biden was the vice president. 

In 1994, Biden voted in favor of a proposed rule that was aimed "to prohibit federal funds for instructional materials, instruction, counseling, or other services on school grounds, from being used for the promotion of homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative."

Moreover, he voted in support of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, which was a federal legislation that defined marriage as the "union of one man and one woman," and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states' laws.

However, in 2012, the incumbent reportedly said, "I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties," as per CBS News. 

Internet reacts as President Joe Biden announces mass pardon of military personnel convicted over their sexual orientation

Soon after the news of Biden issuing mass pardons to veterans convicted under military law that banned gay sex came to light, netizens began to share their thoughts, with many accusing him of pandering to voters. 

One asked, "Why didn't he issue it in 2020, 2021, 2023? Oh yeah, those weren't election years," and another said, "Taking the term ‘Panderer-in-Chief’ to a whole other level."

"I've changed my mind a few times over the past 30 years, too," remarked a person mocking the POTUS. Someone else simply wrote, "Can you say 'pandering?''

An X (formerly Twitter) user noted, "The career conman is very confused," with one more adding, "This guy is rewriting the book on Pathetic." 

Another comment read, "Biden believes everyone forgets." 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.