The federal government may soon apologize for actions that discriminated against LGBTQ public employees as far back as 1949, according to a resolution introduced Tuesday by Senate Democrats.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) are leading the resolution, which has 18 Democratic co-sponsors. The pair sponsored an identical resolution in 2021.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kaine said the resolution reaffirms a commitment “to right our past wrongs” and promote LGBTQ equality across the country.
“LGBT public servants, foreign service officers and military personnel have made countless sacrifices and contributions to our country and national security. Despite this, our government has subjected them to decades of harassment, invasive investigations and unfair dismissals because of who they are or who they love,” he said.
The resolution points to legislation, congressional hearings, reports, and public statements made by members of the federal government against LGBTQ military service members, foreign service members, and civilian employees, particularly during the “Lavender Scare” of the late 1950s and 1960s, when then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) linked homosexuality to communism. In 2017, former Secretary of State John Kerry issued a formal apology to LGBTQ State Department employees for past discrimination based on sexual orientation, including during the “Lavender Scare.”
Kaine’s resolution explicitly mentions the more than 100,000 LGBTQ service members who historians estimate were forced out of the U.S. military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity between World War II and 2011. It also references the “untold others” who were “forced to hide their identities”. and live in fear while serving.”
A 1994 provision passed in that year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — a policy now known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — prevented LGBTQ people from serving openly in the military, before it was repealed in 2011. group of LGBTQ veterans who received dishonorable discharges under the policy because of their sexual orientation sued the Department of Defense last summer, arguing that their civil rights were violated when the department did not upgrade them to honorable discharges after the policy was reversed .
Although the military recognized Due to the discriminatory nature of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and other policies, LGBTQ veterans with dishonorable discharges must still individually prove that discrimination occurred in order for their records to be corrected.
This year’s NDAA changes, approved last week by the GOP-controlled House, have been criticized for similarly targeting LGBTQ service members, especially transgender service members.
“Any person who serves our country, whether in uniform or a public servant, deserves to be treated with respect, fairness and dignity, regardless of who they are or who they love,” Baldwin, who in 2012 became the first openly LGBTQ person elected to the Senate said about the resolution on Tuesday. “I am proud to lead this effort to show our commitment to creating a more welcoming and equitable country that lives up to our nation’s ideals.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
