How troops convicted under a gay sex ban can apply for a pardon from Biden. Will benefits follow?

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says troops who were convicted under an old military policy criminalizing consensual gay sex can now apply for full pardons. That could restore their discharges from military service to an honorable status and pave the way for benefits. Potentially thousands of veterans are affected, but many questions remain about the policy that the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs still must work through. The discharges potentially cost service members years of benefits for home loans, educational benefits and medical care. It’s not clear whether the government will try to find a way to compensate for those costs or to set the benefits from this point forward.