U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) & Charlie Rangel (D-NY) introduced legislation along with 100 bipartisan cosponsors to ensure that gay & lesbian veterans who were discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation receive the honor & recognition they deserve. The “Restore Honor to Service Members Act” would instill the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” into law & support the Department of Defense’s efforts to correct the unfairly tarnished military records of our brave service members. Since World War II to the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” in 2011, approximately 114,000 service members were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Congressman Pocan co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus stated, “For too long, tens of thousands of men & women who selflessly risked their lives for our country have lived with the dishonorable records that came from the unjust “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. But the support we have received for our legislation demonstrates the country’s strong desire to close the book on “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” & rightfully recognize the service of all of our courageous service members. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move forward with this effort & restore honor to all of our brave veterans.” Zeke Stokes of OutServe-SLDN added, “At OutServe-SLDN we hear from these veterans every day & have assisted hundreds of them in applying to upgrade their discharge paperwork. The process is arduous & slow. There is no reason someone who courageously served or fought for their country yet is wrongfully discharged for being gay, should have to fight once again to have their service deemed 'honorable.' To the extent that this bill — or any bill — can expedite that process or ease the burden for veterans, it will have our support.”
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