Page 21 - Desert Lightning News July 1 2016

Desert Lightning News July 1, 2016 21
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LGBT Pride Month Facebook.com/DesertLightningNews

civil rights in the LGBT community actually began much earlier.
Dr. Frank E. Kameny fought for gay rights more than a decade before

Equal Opportunity O ce, 355th Fighter Wing the Stonewall riots. He served in World War II, and later as a civil service
astronomer with the U.S. Army Map Service (Smith, 2016). According to
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Diversity is one of our the Library of Congress, Kameny was fired and banned from federal em-
nation’s greatest strengths. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgen- ployment in 1957 because he was gay (Francis, 2011). He was not the only
der Pride month, we celebrate our rich diversity and renew our enduring one; more than 10,000 gay and lesbian employees were forced out of their

commitment to equity. e dedication and contributions of our Lesbian, jobs during the 1950s and 1960s.
Gay, and Bisexual service members and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans- After being fired, Kameny filed a lawsuit against the government which
gender civilians have had an immeasurable impact on our National Secu- he lost. Losing the first lawsuit, Kameny filed an appeal of which he lost.
rity and the Department of Defense.
He brought the first civil rights action regarding sexual orientation to the
Our nation was founded on the principle that individuals have infinite Supreme Court of the United States, arguing that the government’s actions
dignity and worth. e DoD, which exists to keep the nation secure and toward gays were “an affront to human dignity” (Smith, 2016). e Court
at peace, must always be guided by this principle. In all that we do, we denied his petition. He preserved and continued to fight for civil rights
must show respect for our service members, civilian employees, and family for 18 years, until the U.S. Civil Service Commission reversed its policies
members, recognizing their individual needs, aspirations, and capabilities. excluding homosexuals from government employment. Fifty years after he

“ e Department of Defense has made a lasting commitment to living was fired, the U.S. Civil Service Commission issued Kameny a formal apol-

the values we defend - to treating everyone equally - because we need to be ogy for being fired solely on the basis of his sexual orientation.

a meritocracy. We have to focus relentlessly on our mission, which means On 1 June 2009, President Barack Obama issued Proclamation No. 8387
the thing that matters most about a person is what they can contribute to a for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. e President
national defense” (Carter, 2015.) is article acknowledges the painstaking pointed to the contributions made by LGBT Americans both in promoting
labor of Americans – whose personal sacrifices and determination were equal rights to all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. He
ended the proclamation by calling upon the people of the United States to
instrumental in the struggle for civil rights.
June was selected as Pride month to commemorate the events of that “turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists”. On 22 De-
month in 1969, known as the Stonewall riots – an event that lasted three cember 2010, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) Repeal Act became law
days. Patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, (Lee, 2010). Certification occurred in July 2011, and full implementation
New York, resisted police harassment of the LGBT community ( e White of the Act occurred in September 2011. LGB military members can now
House, 2009). e Stonewall riots were recognized as the catalyst for the serve openly, with honor and integrity.

Gay Liberation movement in the United States. However, the struggle for See LGBT, Page 24

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