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Gay rights activists are questioning the Bush administration’s recent rewriting of rules regarding the ability of gays to obtain national security clearances.
The Bush administration said security clearances cannot be denied "solely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the individual." But it removed language saying sexual orientation "may not be used as a basis for or a disqualifying factor in determining a person’s eligibility for a security clearance."
The new rules also say behavior that is "strictly private, consensual and discreet" could "mitigate security concerns."
"The Bush administration’s stealth effort to allow discrimination against gay and lesbian citizens in receiving national security clearances is a step backward for a nation that holds itself out as a land of equality," said lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.). "Sexual orientation has no relevance to a person’s reliability, trustworthiness or ability to protect classified information."
The White House sought to downplay the changes, approved by President Bush in December, as an effort to ensure the security clearance rules are consistent with a 1995 executive order regarding access to classified information.
"The minor language change did not and was not intended to alter the way sexual orientation is treated," National Security Council spokesperson Frederick Jones said on March 14. "The U.S. government policy has not changed in any way."
Lambda Legal Education & Defense Fund questioned the president’s motive for changing the language.
"The administration claims that it was not intended to change policy or practice, but if that’s the case, why did they change the language?" said Michael Adams, director of education and public affairs for Lambda Legal. "They seem to have watered it down in a way that makes gay applicants for security clearance more vulnerable."
Jones said government lawyers made the changes for clarity.
Gay rights activists expressed concern that the new guidelines could lead to a chipping away of safeguards obtained in the 1990s for gays seeking security-related government jobs.
The web site RawStory.com first reported on the change, made without public notice to an 18-page document distributed by National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on Dec. 29.
Several million civilian and military personnel who work for the U.S. government and its contractors must go through extensive reviews to determine if they’ve exhibited behavior that could compromise national security or make them susceptible to blackmail.
Areas of concern include drug and alcohol use, criminal activity, financial debt, foreign contacts and sexual behavior.
Rules approved by President Clinton in 1997 said that sexual behavior may be a security concern if it involves a criminal offense, suggests an emotional disorder, could subject someone to coercion or shows a lack of judgment.
Veteran D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, who is a recognized expert on security clearance policies and gays, said the change in policy means little.
"At this point, I don’t think it’s of any great significance," he said. "The Clinton order is still in effect, and it provides a lot of safeguards. I could change my mind. But my initial view is that these changes won’t make to a significant difference" to gays who apply for security clearance.
Rob Sadler, a board member of Federal GLOBE, an organization that represents gay federal employees, said that in the past, some gay federal employees and contractors were denied security clearances because of credibility concerns when they didn’t identify themselves as gay in their first security application. That became a "clever Catch-22" way to discriminate based on sexual orientation, he said.
"It may be difficult for me to predict the immediate ramifications of this language, but I would be concerned about it," Sadler said. "While they’re not looking specifically at the person’s orientation, what they may be looking at is behavior associated with that orientation, upon which they could deny the security clearance."
From staff and wire reports
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