Democrats ask DOD to allow ousted gays to appeal for honorable discharge...

[DefiantSix]

From Stars & Stripes:

Democrats ask DOD to allow ousted gays to appeal for honorable discharge
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 3, 2011

WASHINGTON — A group of House Democrats want troops previously dismissed under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law to be able to apply for honorable discharge status, opening the door for them to receive veterans benefits.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month, House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and two colleagues asked Pentagon officials to look into the possibility of allowing those troops to petition the boards of correction to upgrade their status to an honorable discharge, if they received a lesser distinction.

Under Department of Veterans Affairs rules, only troops who receive a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge are completely barred from receiving veterans benefits. But troops with other-than-honorable dismissals do see some restrictions on their eligibility.
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Troops with other-than-honorable dismissals can apply for health care related to service-connected injuries, but the department can deny treatment for health issues that develop later in life. They are not eligible for GI Bill benefits, and may be refused veterans home loans.

Of course, it's about da gub'mint goodies, not about legitimizing peter-puffers who defrauded the American taxpayer with falsified statements to a recruiter. 

h/t to This Ain't Hell

[thundley4]

Let's go a step further. Reinstate them and send them off to make a couple of tours in Afghanistan, first.

[DefiantSix]

Let's go a step further. Reinstate them and send them off to make a couple of tours in Afghanistan, first.

I could go for that:  "You want the effin' bennies?  Go do what the rest of your teammates had to in order to EARN them, or STFU."

Yes: I could go for that quite easily.  Of course, I'm not current or former BTDT, so my opinion on whether or not teh gheys should be let back in to someone's beloved service branch means exactly DICK, but...

[JohnnyReb]

Let's go a step further. Reinstate them and send them off to make a couple of tours in Afghanistan, first.

Then you might hear something like this...#1,"Hey man, I've been hit." #2 "Here. You better do something with that wound."  #1, "Hold this bandage for me." #2 "Oh hell no. I ain't sticking my hand in that bloody mess. You trying to give me AIDS are something."

[Gina]

Why the hell should they have their status' changed?  They knew the DADT rules.  They got caught.  They were breaking the rule at that time.  ****ing assholes

[NHSparky]

What busts my balls is the fact that something like 80-85 percent of the discharges under DADT were the, "Oh, shit--you mean we might have to go into combat or on deployment?  Hey, did I mention I like sucking dick?"

Sorry, no.  You take the discharge you got, and apply for an upgrade the same as anyone else given an ADSEP or other separation for bodyfat, PRT failures, etc.

[docstew]

and what percentage of those discharges were for misconduct and the guilty party just happened to be gay? will they be eligible for an honorable?

[vesta111]

and what percentage of those discharges were for misconduct and the guilty party just happened to be gay? will they be eligible for an honorable?

How does the civilian populous handle these things when laws change???

Say you were convicted for a crime last year and given 3 years in prison.      Today the law has changed and the new law makes it no longer a crime, do you get released immediately and given a check for a few thousand bucks to begin anew???

Can anyone demand their court fines back for speeding on a road that later ups the speed limit?

Do we not have to follow the laws and regulations as they are at the time they were in force------?