We’ve decided your sexuality is scandalous, forcing you to hide it, which makes you at risk of being blackmailed, so we’re charging you with a crime.” Fucking despicable.

While obviously not near the same level of criminalizing someone for part of their core identity, I’ve felt the same way about the US government’s treatment of pot smokers. Can’t get a security clearance if you’ve smoked pot within the past 7 years because it’s blackmail leverage ignoring the fact that it’s only blackmail material when the government considers it verboten

I thought the concept of don't ask don't tell was a way to let gay people serve without getting congress to change the laws. Kind of like federal pot laws. It's technically illegal, they're just not supposed to enforce it.

I was going to join the Navy to help pay for school, and then one day it was no longer legal 🤡

something similar happened to me when i learned about don't ask don't tell.

i ended up taking student loans and i regret it.

It would be up to Congress to make something that couldn’t simply be reversed, but I wouldn’t say now is the time for that since the GOP-controlled House almost certainly wouldn’t pass the bill, even if the Senate did. Biden can only issue executive orders that can be reversed on a whim.

There have been good things throughout Biden’s entire term. They just get overshadowed by the barrage of news about the bad.

Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, revoked the Keystone Pipeline permit, created a 13 million acre federal petroleum reserve for Alaskan wildlife, greatly increased oil site lease cost, signed $7B in solar subsidies, enacted the Inflation Reduction act to support clean energy, leveraged the NLRB for an FTC ruling that eliminated non-compete agreements, capped credit card late fees, reduced or outlawed junk fees in several industries, forgave billions in student debt from predatory loans, created the CHIPS Act to improve reliance on domestic technology, reenacted Net Neutrality, repealed Title 42, ended the Muslim Ban, reinstated the law prohibiting Israeli settlement on Palestinian territory, signed the Equality Act for LGBTQ+ rights, restored gay rights to beneficiaries, reenacted trans care anti-discrimination law, signed the Respect for Marriage Act, enabled unspecified gender on US Passports, pardoned thousands of gay veterans from being convicted based on their sexual orientation, rejoined WHO, rescheduled marijuana, banned medical debt from credit reports, actively reducing drug costs with the American Rescue Plan Act…

Well Said!

Wish we had a stronger sense of civic duty in this country. But one plays with the hand one is dealt.

But hey, we take good news when we can get it.

lol at the 6 (at the time of writing this) trump supporters that downvoted you and are cool with trump pardoning convicted killers, his own sycophants that were convicted of federal crimes, and people that gave him bribes for his presidential pardons at the 11th hour; but not cool with pardoning people wrongfully convicted of a bigoted piece of propaganda turned law with "Don't ask, Don't Tell".

No, apparently Biden is worse because he didn't do this his 1st day in office. Some people are just never happy.

He'd prefer to just form an orderly mob, I guess? Much cheaper and so traditional.

No. This is clemency for prosecution of criminal misconduct and (potential) reinstatement of "honorable discharge" status. If you got fucked financially by a military that lured you in and then crapped you back out again, you'll have to get in line for Biden's debt forgiveness plan.

Also, should note that we changed the law in 2013 and then sat on this for four full years until Obama turned the keys over to Trump. Then retook the White House and waited an additional four years to grant clemency.

Very frustrating to see Presidents implement these policies out of desperation in the middle of a tight election season rather than rolling them out ASAP.

I don't think you can get prosecuted twice for the same crime.

The whole thing was stupid circular logic...

many LGBTQ+ people employed by the federal government were viewed as security risks amid fears their sexual orientation made them vulnerable to blackmail.

LGBTQ people weren't allowed in the government/military, so if you were LGBTQ, they kicked you out because someone could blackmail you for being LGBTQ...

People take LGBT rights for granted. Especially gay marriage. I remember when it wasn't legal. And it only became legal because of the courts.

When people act like SCOTUS and the GOP would never come after established rights, they're either ignorant or liars.