Pentagon agrees to consider honorable discharges for LGBTQ veterans
Source: Reuters
January 6, 2025 4:09 PM EST Updated 12 hours ago
Jan 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to overhaul its process for LGBTQ veterans to seek honorable discharges after they were barred from serving because of their sexual orientation, according to a filing in San Francisco federal court on Monday.
The department and five gay and transgender plaintiffs jointly moved for approval of a settlement that would end a 2023 proposed class action claiming the military's treatment of LGBTQ servicemembers violated their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection. The Defense Department denied wrongdoing.
A Pentagon policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which was in place from 1993 to 2011, barred openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from military service and allowed for the "other than honorable" discharge of LGBTQ servicemembers who revealed their sexual orientation.
Under the settlement, the Defense Department would create a streamlined process for veterans to have their sexual orientation removed from discharge paperwork. And the department agreed to review requests to upgrade veterans' discharges to honorable. The deal must be approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero, who is scheduled to hold a hearing on Feb. 12. The Defense Department and the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/pentagon-agrees-consider-honorable-discharges-lgbtq-veterans-2025-01-06/