U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday apologized to hundreds of State Department employees who were fired after the start of the Cold War for being gay in what is known as the “lavender scare.”
“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,” Kerry said in a statement. “These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today.”
-
![]()
U.S. Navy names ship after gay rights activist Harvey Milk -
![]()
Trump criticizes Obama for not ‘condemning the oppression of women and gays in many Muslim nations’ -
![]()
Mississippi signs law allowing businesses to refuse service to gay couples -
![]()
Critics call Mississippi LGBTQ rights legislation a step back for civil rights
- ‘Not what I expected’: Carney gets an engraved gun as gift from Erdoğan
- Anand calls Iran’s attacks on Gulf ships ‘unacceptable’ and ‘unjustified’
- ‘Lecturing’ other countries is ‘ineffective,’ Carney says in Saudi Arabia
- Alberta auditor general expects to finish probe into health-contracts by end of year
He added: “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.”
Get daily National news
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from Maryland, wrote Kerry in November referring to the time as a “deep stain on our national history and that of the State Department.”
READ MORE: Lachine suspends employee for making homophobic slurs
Cardin told Kerry he intended to “remedy this injustice” by introducing legislation to acknowledge the “lavender scare” years and offer an apology on behalf of Congress.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.