Democrat plans to repeal dishonorable discharges of gay US military personnel
Long Island Democrat Steve Israel has announced
he will put forward legislation repealing the dishonorable discharges of
gay and lesbian military personnel under the policy of Don’t Ask Don’t
Tell and before homosexuality was legalized
Photo: Twitter
Long Island Democratic member of the US House of Representatives Steve
Israel has announced that he will move legislation that would see the
repeal of dishonorable discharges of gays and lesbians who were drummed
out of the military when their sexuality was revealed.
Military veterans are afforded a range of benefits in the US, however those are not available to personnel who have been dishonorably discharged and over 30,000 gay and lesbian veterans are believed to be excluded from receiving those benefits because their sexuality was discovered.
Israel made the announcement at the Long Island Pride Parade on Saturday, accompanied by 75 year-old openly gay World War II veteran Robert O Hawkins Jr who was kicked out of the army in 1962 after decades of service when his sexuality was discovered.
‘They said, “We have proof you are a homosexual, and you can either resign your commission or face a court martial,”’ Hawkins told New York CBS Local news.
‘I resigned. I had no choice, really.’
Hawkins said he had planned to spend his whole career in the military.
‘I would have been an admiral by now,’ Hawkins said.
Instead Hawkins had to change careers and ended up teaching.
Hawkins was only recently able to have his discharge changed from honorable to dishonorable and Israel now hopes to do the same for tens of thousands more people.
Israel called the issue, a ‘long-time injustice that needs to be righted.’
Gays and lesbians were formally barred from military service since World War I and were only allowed to serve if they hid their sexuality since 1993 under the then Clinton Administration’s policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
More than 13,500 gay and lesbian personnel were dismissed from military service before US President Barack Obama ended the policy in 2011.
Military veterans are afforded a range of benefits in the US, however those are not available to personnel who have been dishonorably discharged and over 30,000 gay and lesbian veterans are believed to be excluded from receiving those benefits because their sexuality was discovered.
Israel made the announcement at the Long Island Pride Parade on Saturday, accompanied by 75 year-old openly gay World War II veteran Robert O Hawkins Jr who was kicked out of the army in 1962 after decades of service when his sexuality was discovered.
‘They said, “We have proof you are a homosexual, and you can either resign your commission or face a court martial,”’ Hawkins told New York CBS Local news.
‘I resigned. I had no choice, really.’
Hawkins said he had planned to spend his whole career in the military.
‘I would have been an admiral by now,’ Hawkins said.
Instead Hawkins had to change careers and ended up teaching.
Hawkins was only recently able to have his discharge changed from honorable to dishonorable and Israel now hopes to do the same for tens of thousands more people.
Israel called the issue, a ‘long-time injustice that needs to be righted.’
Gays and lesbians were formally barred from military service since World War I and were only allowed to serve if they hid their sexuality since 1993 under the then Clinton Administration’s policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
More than 13,500 gay and lesbian personnel were dismissed from military service before US President Barack Obama ended the policy in 2011.
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