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S 1766 114th Congress Senate Armed Forces and National Security Administrative remedies Department of Defense Evidence and witnesses Government information and archives Military history Military personnel and dependents Personnel records Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Restore Honor to Service Members Act

Introduced: July 15, 2015 Introduced by: Schatz, Brian Democratic · Hawaii See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 15, 2015
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
Jul 15, 2015
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Restore Honor to Service Members Act

Requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Permits such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable.

Directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances, such as misconduct, that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable.

Prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge.

Directs the Secretary of each military department to ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives.

Requires the reissuance of specified military personnel records and discharge forms in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member.

What's happening now July 15, 2015

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1