Kerry apologizes for past LGBT discrimination at State Department
Kerry apologizes for past LGBT discrimination at State Department
Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday released a statement apologizing for the State Department's past discrimination toward employees and applicants based on sexual orientation.
"Throughout my career, including as Secretary of State, I have stood strongly in support of the LGBT community, recognizing that respect for human rights must include respect for all individuals," Kerry said in the statement, referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community.
"LGBTI employees serve as proud members of the State Department and valued colleagues dedicated to the service of our country."
Kerry said the State Department has for the past several years pushed for the families of LGBT officers to have the same protections overseas as do families of other officers.
"In 2015, to further promote LGBTI rights throughout the world, I appointed the first ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons," he said.
But Kerry said that in the past, the State Department has discriminated against people because of their sexual orientation.
"In the past - as far back as the 1940s, but continuing for decades - the Department of State was among many public and private employers that discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of perceived sexual orientation, forcing some employees to resign or refusing to hire certain applicants in the first place," he said.
He called those actions "wrong then, just as they would be wrong today."
"On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past," Kerry said.
"And reaffirm the Department's steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community."
Secretary of State John Kerry makes formal apology for past LGBTQ discrimination in the US
Secretary of State John Kerry issued a powerful statement on Monday with a formal apology addressed to the United States' LGBTQ communities for the country's history of anti-gay discrimination.
"On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the department's steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community," the statement read.
"There is little we can do to undo the hurts and wrongs of the past," Cardin's letter read, according to the Washington Blade. "But we can take steps to assure that the lessons of these episodes are learned and remembered, and in so doing make a contribution to assuring that such injustice will never transpire again."
In the letter, Cardin noted that from the 1950s and into the 1960s, approximately 1,000 people were removed from their positions at the State Department "for alleged homosexuality."
John Kerry: Anti-Gay Discrimination Apology Made on State Dept.'s Behalf
John Kerry apologized Monday on behalf of the State Department for past anti-gay discrimination that led to the firing of more than 1,000 LGBT staffers in the 1940s and '50s.
Responding to a letter from Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry sought to “take steps to remedy a deep stain on our national history,” CNN reported.
During the McCarthy era, an apparent “Lavender scare” joined the “Red scare” in purging hundreds of gays and suspected gays from government positions. President Dwight Eisenhower continued the discriminatory practices by banning all gay men and lesbians from working for the federal government, with more than 1,000 people ultimately losing their jobs over the policies, according to NPR.
Even as recently as the 1990s, the State Department was reluctant to hire gay men and women and drove some out because they were considered to be security risks, NPR reported.
“On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the Department’s steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community,” Kerry’s statement read in part, NPR reported.
History professor David Johnson, who authored “The Lavender Scare,” welcomed the apology but told NPR “the State Department was unique in its level of homophobia,” rather than being one of many organizations and private companies engaging in discrimination during that time period.
Kerry has taken many pro-LGBT steps during his tenure as Secretary of State, including creating a position titled Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons.
Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday released a statement apologizing for the State Department's past discrimination toward employees and applicants based on sexual orientation.
"Throughout my career, including as Secretary of State, I have stood strongly in support of the LGBT community, recognizing that respect for human rights must include respect for all individuals," Kerry said in the statement, referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community.
"LGBTI employees serve as proud members of the State Department and valued colleagues dedicated to the service of our country."
Kerry said the State Department has for the past several years pushed for the families of LGBT officers to have the same protections overseas as do families of other officers.
"In 2015, to further promote LGBTI rights throughout the world, I appointed the first ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons," he said.
But Kerry said that in the past, the State Department has discriminated against people because of their sexual orientation.
"In the past - as far back as the 1940s, but continuing for decades - the Department of State was among many public and private employers that discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of perceived sexual orientation, forcing some employees to resign or refusing to hire certain applicants in the first place," he said.
He called those actions "wrong then, just as they would be wrong today."
"On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past," Kerry said.
"And reaffirm the Department's steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community."
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| © Provided by The Hill Kerry apologizes for past LGBTI discrimination at State Dept. |
Secretary of State John Kerry makes formal apology for past LGBTQ discrimination in the US
Secretary of State John Kerry issued a powerful statement on Monday with a formal apology addressed to the United States' LGBTQ communities for the country's history of anti-gay discrimination.
"On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the department's steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community," the statement read.
"In the past – as far back as the 1940s, but continuing for decades – the Department of State was among many public and private employers that discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of perceived sexual orientation, forcing some employees to resign or refusing to hire certain applicants in the first place. These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today."The formal apology is in the wake of a request from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who requested that Kerry, on Nov. 29, apologize for the "un-American and unacceptable" discrimination against gays and lesbians during the Lavender Scare. The Lavender Scare was a mass political persecution of gays and lesbians during Sen. Joseph McCarthy's anti-communism purge, also known as the "Red Scare," in the mid-20th century.
"There is little we can do to undo the hurts and wrongs of the past," Cardin's letter read, according to the Washington Blade. "But we can take steps to assure that the lessons of these episodes are learned and remembered, and in so doing make a contribution to assuring that such injustice will never transpire again."
In the letter, Cardin noted that from the 1950s and into the 1960s, approximately 1,000 people were removed from their positions at the State Department "for alleged homosexuality."
John Kerry: Anti-Gay Discrimination Apology Made on State Dept.'s Behalf
John Kerry apologized Monday on behalf of the State Department for past anti-gay discrimination that led to the firing of more than 1,000 LGBT staffers in the 1940s and '50s.
Responding to a letter from Sen. Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry sought to “take steps to remedy a deep stain on our national history,” CNN reported.
During the McCarthy era, an apparent “Lavender scare” joined the “Red scare” in purging hundreds of gays and suspected gays from government positions. President Dwight Eisenhower continued the discriminatory practices by banning all gay men and lesbians from working for the federal government, with more than 1,000 people ultimately losing their jobs over the policies, according to NPR.
Even as recently as the 1990s, the State Department was reluctant to hire gay men and women and drove some out because they were considered to be security risks, NPR reported.
“On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the Department’s steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community,” Kerry’s statement read in part, NPR reported.
History professor David Johnson, who authored “The Lavender Scare,” welcomed the apology but told NPR “the State Department was unique in its level of homophobia,” rather than being one of many organizations and private companies engaging in discrimination during that time period.
Kerry has taken many pro-LGBT steps during his tenure as Secretary of State, including creating a position titled Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons.
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