Rangel Teams Up With Sen. Schatz & Rep. Pocan To Urge Congress To Restore Honor To LGBT Vets
Statement
Ahead of Veterans Day, Congressman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) teamed up with U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai"i), Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Members of the LGBT Equality Caucus to urge the passage of the Restore Honor to Service Members Act, which would help service members who were discharged because of their sexual orientation to receive the corrected status for their military service.
"Sexual orientation has nothing to do with defense of our country," said Rangel. "We have to correct the current law so that many service members who have been victims of prejudice can rightfully claim their rights to healthcare, education and the right to vote."
Since World War II, over 100,000 Americans have been estimated to have been wrongfully discharged due to their sexual orientation. Many of those forced out of the military have been unable to receive the benefits they are entitled to because of their discharge statuses of "other than honorable," "general discharge" or "dishonorable," depending on the circumstances. The consequences of a negative discharge also include preventing some veterans from acquiring civilian employment.
"As a veteran, I know that our men and women in uniform give all to serve our country with great honor," said Rep. Rangel. "We can no longer delay honoring these veterans who deserve long overdue recognition. We struck down "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and legalized same sex marriage. Love is not dishonorable."
The legislation is supported by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, VoteVets.org, OutServe-SLDN, the Human Rights Campaign, American Veterans for Equal Rights, Lambda Legal, Swords to Plowshares, the American Bar Association, Universal Unitarian Association, and the American Humanist Association.
In addition to Representatives Rangel and Pocan, The Restore Honor to Service Members Act has 109 cosponsors, including 4 Republicans, in the House and 37 cosponsors in the Senate.
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