Gay Man to Direct the Office of Personnel Management

THIS IS JUST OUTRAGEOUS, WE ARE PLACING PEOPLE WITH CONFUSED MINDS AND BEHAVOIRS TO MAKE US EVEN MORE CONFUSED. WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE IS THIS ON GOD'S EYES.

A BIG Congratulations to John. As being a past member of his team at the Smithsonian National Zoo, I know first hand that he will be a strong leader for the GLBT community and the whole of OPM. John has a sense of compassion for each and every person that he comes in contact with. He will fight for and represent what is right for others to be able to succeed while giving them a voice where one has not been. Now is the time for change and I wish him and his collegues the courage to challenge each other and the American public to bring that change.

Maybe we'll have a chance at getting DP Health Benefits for Fed. Employees.

This is good news, and Berry sounds very well qualified. This is especially important for GLBT employees of the federal government However, those of us in the private sector who are not federal employees as well as state and local government employees in most "red" states also need protection against employment discrimination. In more than half of the states in this country--including highly populous Florida and Texas--one can still be fired simply for being gay. The only way I see to remedy this is passage of a federal ENDA law. That's the only way racial discrimination in employment was outlawed back in the late 60's,

As a former OPM employee am glad to see Mr Berry recommended for the job. Too many dullards held the reins in the past. Perhaps we'll march forward with this kid. Good luck and all that sort of thing.

This is excellent news. Everyone should keep in mind that the war is won by one battle at a time. This is a very big step, because Mr. Berry is going to be in a position to actually make a difference in the lives of so many LGBT federal employees. Once that starts to happen, its only a matter of time before anti-LGBT discrimination is confronted and defeated in the private sphere. In fact, Berry will have more of an impact here than he would have had in one of those cabinet positions. Just watch, within one month of taking office, Obama is going surprise a lot of folks; that absurd DADT military rule will be abolished, and the employment non-discrimination act will be passed. I also predict that the CA supreme court will strike down Prop 8.

This is great news. At least there should be a return of the protections that existed under the Clinton Administration. GW promptly removed all workplace protections for GLBT personnel of the Federal Government that existed by virtue of presidential order. The only thing that remained are the policy statements of the various agencies. Policy is set at the whim of the top management. Presidential orders do not have the force of law, but they are definitely much stronger than agency policy.

At least if the OPM director is gay then LGBT people are unlikely to have to worry very much about discrimination in federal agencies. It's a positive step towards a better working environment in the federal government.

Excellent! Now maybe GLBT civil servants can get some real protections and opportunities to advance while living openly.

Grat news and our community was so up in arms two weeks ago because they thought Obama was not going to have anyone from the GLBT community as part of his administration. It may not be a cabinet position, but this is pretty important stuff