WASHINGTON – Three senators say the Pentagon is putting too much red tape in front of veterans who want the word “homosexual” removed from their discharges when they were kicked out under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Web site The Hill reports that Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urging him to streamline the “overly burdensome process” for veterans to have their discharges corrected.
“As long as a former service member’s Narrative Reason for a discharge is ‘Homosexual Conduct,’ ‘Homosexual Act’ or ‘Homosexual Marriage,’ that service member is compelled to be ‘out’ to any future civilian employer and anyone else who sees the document,” the senators wrote. “Likewise, the negative re-entry code serves as a barrier to employment opportunities.”
The senators asked Panetta to remove the documentation requirements for changing the discharge, including providing evidence that must overcome the “presumption” from the discharge review board that the discharge was proper.
