10 U.S.C. § 925 — Art. 125. Kidnapping

Page 830 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 924a (4) who, being authorized to make or deliver any paper certifying the receipt of any prop- erty of the United States furnished or in- tended for the armed forces thereof, makes or delivers to any person such writing without having full knowledge of the truth of the statements therein contained and with intent to defraud the United States; shall, upon conviction, be punished as a court- martial may direct. (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 75, § 932; renum- bered § 924, Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5401(14), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2939.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 932 .......... 50:726. May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 132), 64 Stat. 142. The word ‘‘it’’ is substituted for the words ‘‘the same’’ throughout the revised section. Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 924 was renumbered section 928a of this title. AMENDMENTS 2016—Pub. L. 114–328 renumbered section 932 of this title as this section. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with imple- menting regulations and provisions relating to applica- bility to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title. § 924a. Art. 124a. Bribery (a) ASKING, ACCEPTING, OR RECEIVING THING OF VALUE.—Any person subject to this chapter— (1) who occupies an official position or who has official duties; and (2) who wrongfully asks, accepts, or receives a thing of value with the intent to have the person’s decision or action influenced with re- spect to an official matter in which the United States is interested; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. (b) PROMISING, OFFERING, OR GIVING THING OF VALUE.—Any person subject to this chapter who wrongfully promises, offers, or gives a thing of value to another person, who occupies an official position or who has official duties, with the in- tent to influence the decision or action of the other person with respect to an official matter in which the United States is interested, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. (Added Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5437, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2952.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provi- sions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title. § 924b. Art. 124b. Graft (a) ASKING, ACCEPTING, OR RECEIVING THING OF VALUE.—Any person subject to this chapter— (1) who occupies an official position or who has official duties; and (2) who wrongfully asks, accepts, or receives a thing of value as compensation for or in rec- ognition of services rendered or to be rendered by the person with respect to an official mat- ter in which the United States is interested; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. (b) PROMISING, OFFERING, OR GIVING THING OF VALUE.—Any person subject to this chapter who wrongfully promises, offers, or gives a thing of value to another person, who occupies an official position or who has official duties, as compensa- tion for or in recognition of services rendered or to be rendered by the other person with respect to an official matter in which the United States is interested, shall be punished as a court-mar- tial may direct. (Added Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5438, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2953.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provi- sions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title. § 925. Art. 125. Kidnapping Any person subject to this chapter who wrong- fully— (1) seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, or car- ries away another person; and (2) holds the other person against that per- son’s will; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 74; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title XVII, § 1707(a), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 961; Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title V, § 531(d)(1), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3364; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5439, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2953.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 925(a) ...... 925(b) ...... 50:719(a). 50:719(b). May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 125), 64 Stat. 141. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2016—Pub. L. 114–328 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to the offenses of forc- ible sodomy and bestiality. 2014—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–291 substituted ‘‘unlaw- ful force’’ for ‘‘force’’. 2013—Pub. L. 113–66 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of Page 831 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 926 the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense. ‘‘(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be pun- ished as a court-martial may direct.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with imple- menting regulations and provisions relating to applica- bility to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title. Executive Documents GRANTING PARDON FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS OF ARTICLE 125 UNDER THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE Proc. No. 10780, June 26, 2024, 89 F.R. 54329, provided: Our Nation has made tremendous progress in advanc- ing the cause of equality for LGBTQI+ Americans, in- cluding in the military. Despite their courage and great sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual ori- entation or gender identity. Many of these patriotic Americans were subject to a court-martial. While my Administration has taken meaningful action to remedy these problems, the impact of that historical injustice remains. As Commander in Chief, I am committed to maintaining the finest fighting force in the world. That means making sure that every member of our military feels safe and respected. Accordingly, acting pursuant to the grant of author- ity in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., do hereby grant a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to persons convicted of unaggravated offenses based on consen- sual, private conduct with persons age 18 and older under former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Mili- tary Justice (UCMJ), as previously codified at 10 U.S.C. 925, as well as attempts, conspiracies, and solicitations to commit such acts under Articles 80, 81, and 82, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 880, 881, 882. This proclamation applies to convictions during the period from Article 125’s ef- fective date of May 31, 1951, through the December 26, 2013, enactment of section 1707 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113–66) [amending this section, see 2013 Amendment note above]. The purpose of this proclamation is to pardon only offenses based on consensual, private conduct between individuals 18 and older that do not involve any aggra- vating factor, including: (1) conduct that would violate 10 U.S.C. 893a, prohib- iting activities with military recruits or trainees by a person in a position of special trust; (2) conduct that was committed with an individual who was coerced or, because of status, might not have felt able to refuse consent; (3) conduct on the part of the applicant constituting fraternization under Article 134 of the UCMJ [10 U.S.C. 934]; (4) conduct committed with the spouse of another military member; or (5) any factors other than those listed above that were identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in United States v. Marcum as being outside the scope of Lawrence v. Texas as applied in the military context, 60 M.J. 198, 207-08 (2004). The Military Departments (Army, Navy, or Air Force), or in the case of the Coast Guard, the Depart- ment of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, shall provide information about and publicize application procedures for certificates of pardon. An applicant for a certificate of pardon under this proclamation is to submit an application to the Military Department (Army, Navy, or Air Force) that conducted the court-martial or, in the case of a Coast Guard court-martial, to the Department of Homeland Security. If the relevant Department determines that the applicant satisfies the criteria under this proclama- tion, following a review of relevant military justice records, the Department shall submit that determina- tion to the Attorney General, acting through the Par- don Attorney, who shall then issue a certificate of par- don along with information on the process to apply for an upgrade of military discharge. My Administration strongly encourages veterans who receive a certificate of pardon to apply for an upgrade of military discharge. Although the pardon under this proclamation applies only to the convictions described above, there are other LGBTQI+ individuals who served our Nation and were convicted of other crimes because of their sexual ori- entation or gender identity. It is the policy of my Ad- ministration to expeditiously consider and to make final pardon determinations with respect to such indi- viduals. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independ- ence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth. J.R. BIDEN, JR. § 926. Art. 126. Arson; burning property with in- tent to defraud (a) AGGRAVATED ARSON.—Any person subject to this chapter who, willfully and maliciously, burns or sets on fire an inhabited dwelling, or any other structure, movable or immovable, wherein, to the knowledge of that person, there is at the time a human being, is guilty of aggra- vated arson and shall be punished as a court- martial may direct. (b) SIMPLE ARSON.—Any person subject to this chapter who, willfully and maliciously, burns or sets fire to the property of another is guilty of simple arson and shall be punished as a court- martial may direct. (c) BURNING PROPERTY WITH INTENT TO DE- FRAUD.—Any person subject to this chapter who, willfully, maliciously, and with intent to de- fraud, burns or sets fire to any property shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 74; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5440, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2953.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Revised section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 926(a) ...... 926(b) ...... 50:720(a). 50:720(b). May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 126), 64 Stat. 141. In subsection (b), the words ‘‘of this section’’ are omitted as surplusage. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2016—Pub. L. 114–328 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section related to the offenses of aggra- vated arson and simple arson. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with imple- menting regulations and provisions relating to applica- bility to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L.