BILL ANALYSIS �
AJR 44
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 17, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Sharon Quirk-Silva, Chair
AJR 44 (Bloom) - As Amended: June 12, 2014
SUBJECT : Veterans Benefits
SUMMARY : The Legislature urges the Department of Defense,
Congress, and the President to create a more efficient process
of upgrading the status of those who were "dishonorably" or
other than honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the
United States, and to provide benefits, including applicable
spousal benefits, to those veterans discharged solely on the
basis of their sexual orientation.
Directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the
United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States, and to the Department of Defense.
EXISTING LAW : In 2011 Congress repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
(DADT) which had been in effect since 1993.
FISCAL EFFECT : This measure is not keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the Servicemembers' Legal Defense
Network:
The discharge characterization for those discharged under
DADT or the prior policy should accurately reflect the
character of their service. This is not always the case.
Service members who were discharged under DADT generally
received an Honorable or General Under Honorable Conditions
discharge based on their service records. However, a
service member discharged for a "Homosexual Act" that
involved a so-called "aggravating factor" might have been
given an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge
characterization. Most of the factors on the list (such as
acts involving minors, prostitutes or coercion) constituted
unacceptable behavior and should have resulted in an OTH.
But there were two "aggravating factors" that did not
AJR 44
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inherently constitute misconduct and that should not
necessarily have resulted in OTH discharges. These were
acts committed openly in public view (e.g., holding hands
at a restaurant) and acts committed on base or on post
(e.g., a quick hug while being dropped off).
In addition, the Navy and Marine Corps gave those
discharged for "marriage" or "attempted marriage" an OTH,
while in the Army and the Air Force, members discharged for
same conduct received Honorable or General Under Honorable
Conditions discharges, based on their service record.
Service members discharged under the pre-DADT policy were
very likely to receive discharges that were less than
Honorable.
Less than Honorable discharge characterizations can have
lifelong consequences, such as limiting the veteran's
access to the GI Bill or Veterans Administration
healthcare.
Former service members who received a less than Honorable
discharge characterization that is not reflective of their
service are eligible to apply to have that discharge
upgraded to mirror their service?
Even if their discharges were Honorable, service members
discharged under DADT or the prior policy have two
notations on their discharge paperwork that they might find
troubling.
The negative reentry code (usually an RE-4 code) marks the
veteran as someone who the military has made a judgment is
not fit for military service. It is typically reserved for
veterans whose discharge was related to misconduct, such as
drug or alcohol abuse.
The narrative reason for discharge summarizes the basis of
a veteran's separation from the military. In the case of a
DADT discharge, the narrative reason is often "Homosexual
Conduct," "Homosexual Admission" or even just "Homosexual."
Veterans often need to submit their discharge paperwork
when applying for jobs in the civilian world. When the
narrative reason for separation is "Homosexual" or a
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variation on that, the former service member is compelled
to be immediately "out" to perspective employers and anyone
else who sees the document. When there is a negative
re-entry code, employers may conclude the former service
member had engaged in misconduct while in the armed
service.
The repeal of DADT and the adoption of a new regulatory
framework allowing LGB service members to serve openly
allows those discharged under DADT or the prior policy to
apply to have their discharge paperwork changed. Discharge
Review Boards (DRBs) can "change a discharge or dismissal,
or issue a new discharge" based on "propriety and equity."
This includes taking into account current regulations and
deeming a discharge inequitable if policies and procedures
"under which the applicant was discharged differ in
material respects from those currently applicable on a
Service-wide basis" and if the "current policies or
procedures represent a substantial enhancement of the
rights afforded" to the applicant. Boards of Correction for
Military Records can likewise make corrections to any
military record when it is necessary to "correct an error
or remove an injustice."
The existing discharge review board process is not easy to
understand, can take twelve months or more, and places the time,
expense, etc., all the burden on the discharged individual.
This may make sense in other contexts, but to truly undo the
damage caused by DADT and prior policies, it is inequitable to
make each servicemember fight his or her own individual battle.
Moreover, it is a waste of resources to have the Review Boards
hear the same issue over and over again only to reach the same
conclusion.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Democratic Party, Veterans Caucus
Opposition
AJR 44
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None.
Analysis Prepared by : John J. Spangler / V. A. / (916)
319-3550