Dem Resolution Seeks US Apology For “Hundreds Of Thousands” Of LGBT Federal Workers Fired For Sexuality

NBC News reports:

LGBTQ civil servants and service members were systematically fired or forced to resign due to their sexual orientation or gender identity over the past seven decades, and a proposed bill is seeking to have the federal government issue an official apology acknowledging its past discriminatory policies.

The bill, introduced Thursday by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says the federal government “discriminated against and terminated hundreds of thousands” of LGBTQ people who served in the armed forces, the foreign service and the federal civil service for decades, “causing untold harm to those individuals professionally, financially, socially, and medically, among other harms.”

The Hill reports:

The resolution also reestablishes a commitment by the U.S. government to “military service members, veterans, foreign service employees, federal civil service employees, and contractors with equal respect and fairness, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Kaine and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the country’s first openly gay U.S. senator, led the introduction of the resolution. The document is co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), among others.

Senators @timkaine and @SenatorBaldwin co-introduced a bill that would issue an apology on behalf of the U.S. for discrimination against LGBTQ civil servants and service members. https://t.co/MRDEtePIQ7 via @JoYurcaba

— NBC Out (@NBCOUT) June 18, 2021