How many gay people in the military

2020;55(12):2055-2063. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/09h684x2. Lucas CL, Goldbach JT, Mamey MR, Kintzle S, Castro CA. Military sexual assault as a mediator of the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among lesbian, gay, and bisexual veterans: military sexual assault, PTSD, and depression.

38. Brenner LA, Forster JE, Walsh CG, et al.

More importantly, Restoration of Honor Act eligibility does not change a veteran’s official status of discharge federally, which instead requires review by the Department of Defense. J Interpers Violence. PLoS ONE. J Affect Disord. However, since that time, veteran advocacy groups report that most LGBTQ+ veterans who chose to apply are still awaiting a status upgrade and have not been able to access federal benefits.22

On the state level, legislation through Restoration of Honor Acts has been passed in several states to authorize the restoration of some state-based veteran benefits to those who were other than honorably discharged due to LGBTQ+ identity and for those who have experienced mental health problems due to PTSD and sexual military trauma.

Dement Neurocogn Disord. 23 No. 2 P. 12

US military service members are often associated with a warrior identity.1 The image of a lone male soldier on the battlefield traditionally has been reinforced by recruiting initiatives and military imagery to match that social construction. Am J Addict.

2021;99(3):273-288. Scholars, activists, and lawmakers have wrestled for years with how to count and identify these individuals in the absence of clarity and transparency from the military itself.

"The numbers confirm the magnitude of the discrimination and injustice suffered by so many service members who joined our Armed Forces with the hope of honorably serving our country," said Elizabeth Kristen, the director of Legal Aid At Work's Gender Equity & LGBTQ Rights Program.

LGBT Health. Psychol Public Policy Law.

Accessed January 20, 2023.

18. 2018;10(3):276-281. 2019;6(1):8. J Psychiatr Res. J Interpers Violence. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/lgbtq-military-members-and-veterans-face-economic-housing-and-health-insecurities.

33.

55. Neurology.