|
Calls Bush Proposal, 'Appalling, UnAmerican, Anti-American' National Stonewall Democrats Call It 'An Alarming Proposal'
"Whatever may be the problems with, perhaps, a mildly excessive rigidity and, possibly, a need for modest restructuring in the present, long-established civil service system, they are as nothing compared with the abuses, corruption, incompetence, embezzlement, and chaos which will commence to plague our Federal civil service if the current system is dismantled and the proposed mass contracting-out is instituted. Why should private companies be paid to serve as employment agencies for a Federal government demonstratedly fully competent to serve itself in that capacity? "The radical right and the nutty fundamentalists have never come to terms with the very hard-won 1975 lifting of the gay ban in Federal employment, for which we successfully and bitterly fought in the 1960s and 70s, as initially formalized through the 1977 Civil Service Reform Act, and as finally formalized by President Clinton through his 1998 Executive Order 13087, which they have been trying to rescind or nullify ever since. "Having been unable to succeed directly, they have contrived a "back door" means of imposing their will. The proposed loss of protections for gay goverment employees represents just the beginning of the evils which will be visited upon all Americans if these benighted neanderthals have their way. "Remedy is well within the power of Congress. As intensively as possible, they must be urged, pressured, and lobbied to thwart the implementation of this appalling proposal. If that does not work, then we gays will have to re-commence the fight which we first won in 1975. "We were successful then, with only a few allies, and we will be successful again with the numerous allies of the present, because we are right, rational, and American, and our opposition is wrong, irrational to the point of utter lunacy, and unAmerican and anti- American. And because the proposed changes are so glaringly detrimental to the national interest." In order to retain existing civil rights protections, the National Stonewall Democrats called on President Bush in December to issue an Executive Order that specifically requires private companies that win federal employment contracts to follow policies which forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, the Administration specifically refused to do so. Such an Executive Order has historical precedent. President Kennedy issued an Executive Order that requires federally contracted companies to abide by non-discrimination polices that outlawed discrimination based on race. Additionally, a few local jurisdictions have required private contractors to follow city non-discrimination policies which protect against anti-gay bias. |
Franklin E. Kameny, Ph.D.