The Biden administration is expected to announce pardons for U.S. veterans who were convicted under military rules that prohibited gay sex, CNN first reported on Tuesday.
The pardons, which are expected to be announced Wednesday, would affect veterans who had been convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 125. The rule criminalized sodomy and attempted sodomy from 1951 to 2013, when Congress repealed the ban.
Those who committed nonconsensual acts, including rape, will not be eligible for a pardon.
Some 2,000 people convicted under the law had military benefits withheld. A pardon would allow them to apply to have them reinstated.
Those pardoned can also apply to the board of corrections for their military branch to have their discharge status corrected, CNN reported.