2,000 Former Military Personell are Pardoned



For many decades, someone who was known to be homosexual was charged by the U.S. military with a crime. There were 2,000 cases. The President has pardoned them all. 

I pulled down a book from my shelf, Honor Bound: A Gay American Fights for the Right to Serve His Country by Joseph Steffan. I knew Joe when he was briefly at NDSU getting a degree in economics. While his story is not about the pardon issued by President Biden, it reflects the terrible history of how gay people were treated in the military.

Joe grew up in Warren, MN. He was an outstanding student and athlete and was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy. He thrived there as well but days before he was to graduate and receive a commission a classmate told authorities Joe had confided to him he was gay. The navy cancelled his degree and he was ordered to immediately leave the Academy. He had invested four years of his life at the Academy but was forced out without any degree. A court ordered the Academy to issue him his degree. Through more court appeals and maneuvers by military lawyers plus an anti-gay judge who referred to Joe as a "h#mo" Joe never received his degree from the Academy. 

Our economics degree allowed lots of electives and this made it possible for Joe to complete his bachelor's degree. He worked in Fargo briefly and then obtained a law degree at the University of Connecticut. I have lost contact with him but I see from Wikipedia he has been an attorney in the New York City area for some decades specializing in software law.    

All of this reminds of us the accomplishments which have been made. But, of course, much remains to be done. Readers here know how pregnant women in some states are put at risk by religious groups who have put their religion into law. It took around 400 years to rid our country of slavery. It was so embedded in society, religion and law it must have seemed like getting rid of it was an impossible task. 

Today the injustices are no longer slavery but other issues that require our persistent efforts.


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