Restoring Honor for LGBTQ+ Veterans: A Matter of Life & Death
How many military veterans do you know personally? For the longest time, I only knew one: my grandpa. My grandpa landed at Normandy on D+3, June 9, 1944. Three days following General Eisenhower’s successful efforts on Utah Beach, my grandpa had landed and was tasked with liberating Nazi concentration camps. A young Jewish man, the trauma of genocide and war must have haunted him. I can only imagine because he never vocalized his experiences to me. However, I internalized one unspoken lesson: I must learn from his heroism and sacrifice and devote my life to serving veterans who have endured the invisible wounds of war — psychological scars — since our nation’s founding. My grandpa’s Greatest Generation was no exception, and neither are post-9/11 veterans. In the words of Abraham Lincoln at his second inaugural address 120 years before my grandpa’s unit returned to New York Harbor, Americans must “care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” This solemn promise is so sacred that it is the motto for the VA to this day.
Against the backdrop of the veteran suicide crisis, I invoke Lincoln’s words and ask that Congress restores the honor, dignity, and benefits of LGBTQ+ who were denied benefits on the basis of their sexual orientation. Correcting unjust discharges would mean LGBTQ+ veterans access crucial VA mental healthcare resources, as veterans grapple with mental health wounds and suicide. Here is what I recommend: Congress must pass S.1956 — Restore Honor to Service Members Act to ensure equity for LGTBQ+ Veterans. The restored benefits could save lives by curbing the per day veteran suicide rate.
According to the latest data released by the VA, 17.6 veterans commit suicide per day, a rise from 17.5 average suicide deaths per day one year prior. The rate is unsurprisingly higher for those veterans who did not receive recent (i.e. within one year of suicide) VA care: “In 2018, the average of 17.6 Veteran suicides per day comprised 6.5 Veterans with recent VHA use and 11.1 Veterans without recent VHA use.” The data are deeply troubling given the scores of veterans rendered ineligible for VA benefits under, now repealed, federal law, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Under the policy, veterans were discharged from the military without benefits or honorable status merely on the basis of their sexual orientation. LGBTQ+ veterans who sacrificed their lives to protect their fellow Americans were discharged from the military without the full rights, benefits, and services they deserved. Inconceivably, even after the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, LGBTQ+ veterans have still been left behind, as their less than honorable discharge status keeps them ineligible from life-saving benefits.