During Pride Month, Merkley, Wyden, colleagues introduce resolution apologizing for government discrimination against LGBTQ+ civil servants, servicemembers
Joint media release from Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined a resolution led by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to acknowledge and apologize for the mistreatment of and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals who have served in the uniformed services, as civil servants, or in the Foreign Service.
“America is at its best when everyone can live as their authentic self — no matter who they are or whom they love,” said Merkley, author of the Equality Act. “For decades, our government mistreated and discriminated against LGBTQ+ civil servants, Foreign Service Officers, and members of our military simply for being themselves. This resolution is a long overdue, critical step towards acknowledging and repairing the harm done to LGBTQ+ Americans who have bravely served our country.”
“It’s long past time to face the hard historic truth that LGBTQ+ Americans suffered for far too long the loss of jobs and the ruin of reputations simply for loving who they love,” said Wyden. “America has a long way to go before achieving true equality. But this resolution takes one good step toward reaching that goal by publicly recognizing the many harms inflicted on LGBTQ+ Americans and genuinely apologizing for them.”
The United States has a long, disturbing history of discrimination against servicemembers and other federal employees identifying as LGBTQ+. Beginning in the early 1940s, including a period that historians have labeled the “Lavender Scare,” thousands of federal employees were discriminated against because of their sexuality. At least 100,000 LGBTQ+ military servicemembers were forced out of the Armed Forces between World War II and 2011, most recently due to the 1994-2011 ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, which prohibited servicemembers from disclosing their sexual orientation.
In 2014, Former President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13672, officially prohibiting the federal government and federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. During the Biden Administration, the Department of Defense announced that it would undertake a proactive review of the service records of individuals discharged due to their sexual orientation to assess whether to grant them discharge upgrades. Instead of building on that progress, the Trump-Vance Administration is taking America backward, including by rescinding President Obama’s Executive Order 13672 and banning transgender Americans from serving in the armed services—a move that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled is likely unconstitutional.
Merkley and Wyden have long fought for equal treatment and rights for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Merkley is the author of the Equality Act — supported by 47 Senators including Wyden — which is historic, comprehensive legislation to enshrine civil rights protections for our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors in federal law. Merkley also led the introduction of a resolution with his Senate colleagues including Wyden to mark September 20th as National LGBTQ+ Servicemembers and Veterans Day, honoring these heroes for their service to our nation.
Full text of the resolution from Senators Kaine and Baldwin is available by clicking here.
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