President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will use clemency authority to pardon former service members who were convicted of crimes because of their sexual orientations or gender identities.

Biden will issue a proclamation pardoning veterans who were convicted under a provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibiting gay sex, senior administration officials said on a call with reporters.

Service members who meet certain eligibility requirements will be able to obtain certificates of pardon and apply to have their discharge characterizations changed within their branches, officials said.

Biden said the action was aimed at “righting an historic wrong” for many former service members who faced convictions “simply for being themselves.”

“Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some of these patriotic Americans were subject to court-martial, and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades,” Biden said in a statement. “This is about dignity, decency, and ensuring the culture of our Armed Forces reflect the values that make us an exceptional nation.”

The pardon would apply to any eligible conviction from 1951 through 2013, when Congress rewrote Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which criminalized sodomy.

Administration officials did not specify how many former service members would be affected, but they estimated that “thousands” were convicted under the provision, which held that any person found guilty of sodomy should be punished as directed by a court-martial. The action would also apply to those who are deceased.

Biden’s re-election campaign has sought to shore up support from LGBTQ voters during National Pride Month as some of his allies worry about dwindling support. A poll conducted in January by the advocacy group GLAAD found 68% of LGBTQ registered voters supporting Biden and 15% backing former President Donald Trump.

Biden and Trump have contrasting records on LGBTQ protections.

During his first days in office, Biden signed an executive order repealing a Trump-era ban on transgender people’s serving openly in the military.

In 2019, Trump rolled back Obama-era health care protections for transgender people and opposed the Equality Act, legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity that gained Biden’s support on the campaign trail in 2020 and that he vowed to prioritize during his first 100 days. The measure failed to pass in the Senate after the House approved it in 2021.

Trump did not recognize Pride Month for the first two years of his term, but in 2019 he became the first Republican president to acknowledge Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York, after President Bill Clinton first recognized Pride Month in 1999.

Trump has said that if he is elected in November he plans to roll back government programs to protect trans rights and punish doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com