The U.S. Department of Justice has taken a step back from telling its gay and lesbian employees that they cannot hold their annual
pride awards ceremony June 18. Now they say it was all a misunderstanding, that DOJ Pride can hold the event, but it won't be
officially sponsored, and they will have to pick up the associated costs.
Gay groups have welcomed the retreat but say it still amounts to discrimination and they want to be treated just the same as
everybody else. They are continuing to press for what they got last year.
The incident began at the end of May when Marina Colby, president of DOJ Pride, the recognized organization of GLBT
employees at DPJ, was told that the group could not hold their event because there was no presidential proclamation declaring gay
pride, and none from the Attorney General. Thus, Ashcroft's office had ruled that the event could not take place at the Department.
Justice Department spokesmen stuck to that message even after the story broke in The New York Times June 6, and Senators began
writing letters to the Department.
The tune changed June 10 when spokesman Mark Corallo claimed, 'This was just a case of miscommunication, a
misunderstanding.' While the Department would not sponsor the event, DOJ Pride could still have it, and pick up the costs.
'This backtracking is not acceptable,' said Leonard Hirsch, president of Federal GLOBE, the broad association of GLBT
employees at federal agencies. 'It is the equivalent of being told that we can ride the bus—but only in the back.'
Hirsch declared, the Department needed several days to respond 'because they had to craft a clever but deceptive articulation
that covered their ... you know what ... but did not reverse the unfair and discriminatory purpose of their stance.' He believes DOJ has
yielded to pressure from social conservatives.
'The new policy is still a step backward as DOJ Pride is being treated differently than it was in the past,' said Winnie Stachelberg,
political director of the Human Rights Campaign. 'This policy marginalizes the Department's GLBT employees.'
'It's a start for sure,' said Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. 'But we need to make sure that the
commitment that Attorney General Ashcroft made to members of the United States Senate and Log Cabin Republicans is made
whole—complete and equal treatment of all Department of Justice employees. We call on the Attorney General to make this happen.'
'We will continue to work for our community to make sure that gay and lesbian DOJ employees enjoy the same rights as all
Justice Department employees, including the appropriate funding of these type of event,' Guerriero said.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, was one of those who wrote to the Department when news of the ban first hit. He called the
backtracking 'the politics of a cover-up,' and said he was going to seek a congressional hearing into possible civil-rights violations.
As for Marina Colby, 'We find it unconscionable that the agency charged with defending civil rights in this country is denying
equal access to our community.' She and other community organizations continue to work for that equality.
