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The Pinking of Capitol Hill

The formation of an LGBT affinity group at the SEC and an LGBT congressional caucus presage a warmer atmosphere for gays in Washington.
From The Advocate  August 12, 2008
The Pinking of Capitol Hill

 When a few employees approached the Equal Employment Opportunity Office at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1998 and asked about creating an affinity group for gay and lesbian staffers, the answer was yes. But the effort stalled—becoming a member of the group would require people to come out, which no employee wanted to do.

So while closeted gay employees sat on the sidelines, groups for female, American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and disabled workers were created at the SEC, and several of the companies over which it has governance were touting their LGBT employee groups: AT&T launched its group in 1987, Microsoft in 1993, Ford in 1994, and Raytheon in 2002.

It wasn’t until this June that the SEC’s LGBT affinity group held its first events in Washington, D.C. In advance of the group’s inaugural meeting on June 10, gay Democratic congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts delivered a keynote address June 9 on the power of visibility. “By the process of coming out, we have helped America understand that they were not antigay,” Frank said. “They just thought they were supposed to be.”

This time around, about 30 SEC employees have signed on as members. “We’ve had to wait a while, but once we started pushing hard for it, the idea was received warmly,” says SEC attorney Scott Pomfret, who is cochair of the employee group. “It’s time for the people of the SEC to recognize the contributions that gay and lesbian employees make here on a day-to-day basis. And that way, prospective SEC employees will know that this is a place where they won’t have to worry about being out.”

So why the wait? Blame the frigid climate toward gays in D.C. under the Bush administration. “We’ve got people in the financial services industry or at the SEC who think, If people know I’m gay or lesbian, will that hurt my ability to keep my job?” Frank, who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, tells The Advocate. “Well, I have a major role in that industry right now. The people who run these entities have to be nice to me whether they like me or not. So it’s hard to be nice to me and then be prejudiced against some lesbian.”

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Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Rich Givens
    Date posted: 2008-07-25 10:58 PM
    Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

    Comment:

    This "warming" in Washington DC is certainly good news. But, as one of a bi-national couple, separated by a viciously anti-gay immigration system, I wonder how much longer it will be before the Uniting American Families Act will get any play. The Democrats have been in the majority since 2006, yet not a peep about changing the immigration laws to allow permanent partner sponsorship has been heard. WHAT'S THE HOLD UP?????


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