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With less than two weeks to go before finding himself in the unemployment line, Secretary of State John Kerry took a moment to publicly apologize on behalf of the State Department for its past employment discrimination practices against gay people.
LGBT issues have made up a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s eight-year legacy, which included a heavy focus by the State Department on LGBT issues around the world. But apparently, advocating for the human rights of gay and trans persons across the globe wasn’t enough – Kerry felt the need to apologize retroactively for his department’s history of not hiring gay people. In a statement published on the State Department's website Monday, Kerry stated:
Throughout my career, including as Secretary of State, I have stood strongly in support of the LGBTI community, recognizing that respect for human rights must include respect for all individuals. LGBTI employees serve as proud members of the State Department and valued colleagues dedicated to the service of our country. For the past several years, the Department has pressed for the families of LGBTI officers to have the same protections overseas as families of other officers. In 2015, to further promote LGBTI rights throughout the world, I appointed the first ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons.
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. These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today.
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.
Kerry’s State Department has made quite an issue out of LGBT rights, regularly criticizing the United States for its treatment of gay people at numerous global events (despite making deals with nations who openly advocate violence against homosexuals). The department has also, among other things, hijacked International Women’s Day to tout transgender inclusivity, launched a multi-million dollar Global Equality Fund to support LGBT persons in other nations and promoted its own LGBT employees as part of “Pride Month.”
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