Joe Biden Concede indulto a veteranos gay. Biden signs "historic" executive order to protect LGBTQ people

 Oriana González

Axios  06/25/2024

🏳️‍🌈 El presidente Joe Biden anunció el miércoles que otorgó la clemencia presidencial a potencialmente miles de veteranos que fueron condenados y expulsados de las fuerzas armadas debido a una antigua ley que prohibía el sexo gay, incluyendo entre adultos consentidos.

🙏Se trata de quienes fueron condenados bajo el Artículo 125 del Código Uniforme de Justicia Militar mientras estuvo en vigor desde la década de 1950 hasta 2013.

🙅‍♂️Sin embargo, el histórico perdón presidencial no aplica a quienes hayan sido condenados por sexo no consentido o violación y tampoco elimina automáticamente el récord criminal de quienes soliciten el beneficio.

🇺🇸Lo que sí les permite es solicitar un indulto ante las autoridades militares que les ayude a recibir los beneficios que les fueron negados debido a su baja “deshonrosa”.

🗣️"Hoy estoy corrigiendo un error histórico al utilizar mi autoridad de clemencia para perdonar a muchos ex miembros del servicio que fueron condenados simplemente por ser ellos mismos", dijo Biden en un comunicado.

🏛️Esta acción es independiente de la revisión en curso del Departamento de Defensa (DOD) de veteranos LGBTIQ+ que pueden haber sido expulsados del servicio bajo la política de "no preguntes, no digas" (“Don’t ask, don’t tell”).

🪖Según datos del DOD, al menos 32,837 miembros del servicio LGBTQ+ fueron expulsados entre 1980 y 2011, y más de 14,000 recibieron bajas generales, deshonrosas, no caracterizadas o desconocidas.

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Biden signs "historic" executive order to protect LGBTQ people (axios.com)

Biden signs "historic" executive order to protect LGBTQ people

06/26/2024

President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to strengthen protections for people in the LGBTQ community as states attempt to pass a raft of controversial anti-LGBTQ measures.

Driving the news: Biden signed the order to commemorate Pride Month, while hosting families, advocates and allies who have been impacted by these restrictive state measures.

By the numbers: Over 300 anti-LGBTQ laws have been introduced in state legislatures this year, per the White House.

• Over two-thirds of LGBTQ youth said recent debates over state laws that target transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health, according to a poll by the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.

Details: The order will protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy, a practice which is banned in at least 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to Movement Advancement Project, a think tank that tracks LGBTQ policies across the U.S.

• It will also set up programs to address the LGBTQ youth mental health crisis and prevent suicide within this population "by expanding access to suicide prevention resources," senior administration officials said.
• The order will launch a new initiative "to address the discrimination that children and parents face in the foster care system."
• Biden is also directing the Department of Health and Human Services to develop "a new bill of rights for LGBTQI+ seniors."
• Senior administration officials said that the actions will be taken "within the existing budgets of agencies."

What he's saying: "No one knows better than people in this room, we have a lot more work to do. I don't have to tell you about the ultra MAGA agenda, attacking families and our freedoms. ... These attacks are real and consequential for real families," Biden said.

• "My order will use of the full force of the federal government to prevent inhumane practices of conversion therapy. This is the first time the federal government is making a coordinated response against this dangerous, discredited practice," the president added.

• "We're in a battle for the very soul of this nation, and that's not hyperbole. ... It's a battle I know we will win."

"President Biden always stands up to bullies. And that's what these extreme MAGA laws and policies do — they bully kids," senior administration officials told reporters in a press call. 

• "Hateful, discriminatory laws that target children are out of line with where the American people are. And President Biden is going to use his executive authority to protect kids and families."
• "[T]are important new actions that will improve the health, wellbeing, and safety of countless families across the country."

LGBTQ rights groups praised Biden's executive order, with Amit Paley, CEO of The Trevor Project, saying that it "will help save young LGBTQ lives."

Go deeper: Best and worst states for LGBTQ+ equality

Editor's note: This post was updated to reflect that Biden has signed the executive order.