LGBTQ Veterans Discharged Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Can Receive Full Benefits – By Curtis M. Wong (Huff Post) / Sept 21 2021
The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued guidance to “reverse the harm done” to people forced out of the military due to their sexuality or gender identity.
LGBTQ military veterans who received other-than-honorable discharges for their sexuality, gender identity or HIV status are nonetheless eligible for government benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week.
More than 14,000 service members were forced out of the military under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which was established in 1994 under former President Bill Clinton. Each member who was forced out was given an other-than-honorable discharge and, as such, was unable to receive health care, guaranteed home loans or disability compensation, among other benefits.
Kayla Williams, assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that Monday’s announcement was a clarification of existing rules, rather than a legal change.
She described the guidance as part of the VA’s overall effort to “reverse the harm done to all LGBTQ+ Veterans.”
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