American Express

Clergy Betrayal | U.S. Military LGBTQ History | Be Illuminating

For decades, LGBTQ+ service members in the U.S. military faced severe risks due to anti-LGBTQ+ policies enforced under Executive Order 10450 (1953-1993), which classified “sexual perversion” as a security threat. Military chaplains and clergy, who were traditionally trusted for confidentiality, became conduits for military police investigations. Under these policies, chaplains often engaged in deeply personal conversations, probing into service members’ sexual history, any experiences of abuse, or relationships, supposedly for guidance but ultimately leading to reports if any “incriminating” details emerged. LGBTQ+ members who sought support risked being exposed and discharged, even punished, leaving them isolated from meaningful sources of help.

Through the Cold War era and until the early 1990s, clergy involvement embedded religious figures in a system of surveillance, with service members subjected to questions intended to extract potentially damaging information. The 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy marked a slight shift by stopping direct investigations, yet still barred open LGBTQ+ expression. This shirt, titled “Clergy Betrayal | U.S. Military LGBTQ History,” honors those affected by these policies and the legacy of Executive Order 10450, which cast shadows over LGBTQ+ rights and service for 40 years.

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