The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs will now assist former service members who were denied an honorable discharge due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
New Jersey Gov. Tom Murphy signed S2815 on April 19. DMAVA will assist veterans with completing and submitting the appropriate forms to petition the Department of Veterans Affairs to change their discharge designation to instead reflect an honorable discharge.
“Our LGBTQ+ service members made countless sacrifices to serve this nation, yet were discharged and denied the services and benefits they deserved simply because of who they were and whom they loved,” said Murphy in a statement.
DMAVA will also be tasked with creating, publishing, and distributing material to all public agencies regarding the availability of the assistance, as well as creating a uniform and consistent process for providing such assistance.
“Members of the LGBTQ+ community who bravely served our country and who were discharged on the basis of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation were done a grievous injustice,” said state Sen. Vin Gopal. “This law won’t right that wrong completely, but it is a step toward ensuring that former service members are afforded the respect and benefits they deserve.”
Murphy said the legislation streamlines the process to provide direct assistance to LGBTQ+ veterans in their efforts to revise their discharge status and attain the benefits they earned and deserve.
Under the legislation, former service members who have the designation of their discharge changed will be eligible for the same rights, privileges and benefits that are offered to those who were honorably discharged.
According to the release, nearly 100,000 LGBTQ+ service members were denied honorable discharge prior to the repeal of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. As a result, they are ineligible for both state and federal veterans’ benefits.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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