LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to pass S. 1956/H.R. 2839, The Restore Honor to Service Members
Act

WHEREAS, The federal legislation, The Restore Honor to Service Members
Act, would require review boards of the military services to establish a
timely, consistent, and transparent process for reviewing the records of
service members claiming to have been discharged because of their sexual
orientation; and
WHEREAS, This federal measure would ensure service members who were
discharged for no other reason than their sexual orientation, have an
opportunity to have their military service records corrected to reflect
their honorable service; and
WHEREAS, Between World War II and the repeal of the policy known as
Don't Ask, Don't Tell in September 2011, approximately100,000 service
members were discharged because of their sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, Many of those discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell may have
been designated with a discharge status of "other than honorable,"
"general discharge," or "dishonorable," depending on the circumstances;
and
WHEREAS, Some of the consequences of these discharges are these
servicemen and women may be partially or entirely disqualified from
accessing the veterans' benefits they earned and are entitled to, such
as the GI bill and the veteran's health care system; the consequences of
these discharges may also prevent them from voting and may make it more
difficult for them to find civilian employment; and
WHEREAS, After Don't Ask, Don't Tell went into effect in 1993, many
service members discharged from the military under this policy were
given "honorable" discharges, however, the narrative reason on their
discharge papers, may read "Homosexual Conduct," "Homosexual Act," or
"Homosexual Marriage," threatening their privacy when using these papers
as proof of veteran status; and
WHEREAS, Service members discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell could
receive a negative reenlistment code barring them from re-entering the
military, which could be interpreted by civilians without knowledge of
the military that they were discharged for bad conduct; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Defense has taken steps by allowing members
to appeal their discharge characterization and to change their narra-
tive, however, the process remains onerous, and often requires them to
retain legal counsel to help them navigate the process and produce
paperwork or other evidence that the former service member may not have;
and
WHEREAS, The Restore Honor to Service Members Act would make the proc-
ess for corrective action easier and simplify the requirements necessary
for service members to initiate a review by removing the responsibility
of the service member to find and produce relevant documentation and
placing the responsibility on the Department of Defense; and
WHEREAS, This federal act would require the historians of each of the
military services to review the facts and circumstances of the estimated
100,000 service members discharged for their sexual orientation prior to
the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation be and
hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to pass The
Restore Honor to Service Members Act to help correct the military record
of service members who were discharged due to their sexual orientation
so these men and women can receive the honorable discharges they earned;
and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitable engrossed, be tran-
smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of
New York.