Dawning by Nicholas_T

Most of the folks reading this have heard about the Red Scare — the 1950s Republican-instigated purge of anyone who may have had lefty leanings from the Federal Government, and to a large extent from public life in general.   But there was another purge going on the Feds, one that had started earlier, claimed far more civil servants and lasted for far longer:  The Lavender Scare.

The Lavender Scare, which shared many of the same instigators as the Red Scare (Roy Cohn being Exhibit A),  needed far less evidence to condemn its victims.   Oftentimes, all it took to end a career was a simple anonymous accusation leveled at the employee.  Countless thousands of gay and lesbian employees were fired or resigned because of the pressures leveled against them; some even committed suicide.

In the 1990s, President Clinton tried to undo the damage wrought by the Lavender Scare.  He pushed through a series of executive orders that mandated equal treatment for gay employees, at least in the civilian wing of the Federal government; however, the Pentagon brass, backed by an orchestrated campaign led by several prominent conservatives and Republicans, fought him to a standstill which resulted in the creation of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell", which many observers saw as actively harmful to gays and lesbians.

Now it’s 2009, and we have a new president — and a new OPM director, John Berry.  Who is an openly gay man.

The Bush Period aside, DoD has typically given much weight to OPM directives concerning employment.   This, combined with Ellen Tauscher’s legislation designed to end "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" once and for all, signals a new dawn for GLBT justice in America.   The Federal government, which for years lagged behind private industry in terms of providing equal rights to people in the GLBT community, now not only is poised to play catch-up, but to take the lead in bringing America out of the Dark Ages.