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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1995)
Ju st o u t ▼ a u g u s t 18. I M S T i l I simply do it better! Access secured Clinton signs an executive order removing sexual orientation from the grounds for denial of security clearances ▼ Whether it's listening to your wants and needs, developing*a presentation of properties, or negotiating your transaction, be assured that your satisfaction is my ultimate objective Call me at Bridgetown Realty — because there is a difference ! A £ Donald Falk M illio n D ollar Producer by Bob Roehr recent executive order updating secu rity clearance procedures—among its many provisions—removes sexual orientation as the sole grounds for denying those clearances. It formal izes a process which has become increasingly common over the years. The 13-page “Access to Classified Informa tion,” signed Aug. 4 by President Bill Clinton, establishes for the first tim e uniform govemmentwide standards in granting security clearances. It grew out of a review of the case of former CIA employee Aldrich Ames, who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. The order also eases concerns about those who have sought counseling on issues of mental health. Another provision gives security agencies greater Infinity Tattoo High Tech Gays is a professional association whose members must often obtain security clearances for their work. “This has done something we could not have conceived of years ago,” said Frank Kameny. His being denied a security clearance in 1957 led him to champion that cause for nearly four decades. “It not merely gets the government to pull back its claws as an active, hostile adversary, but to do a 180 degree about-face and offer actual affirmative protection.” But Kameny harbors some reservations as well. One is that the administration has refused to re scind the 1953 executive order 10450, which la bels “sexual perversion”—a code word for homo sexuality—as grounds for denial of a security clearance. Furthermore, the new order defers to 40 ® % N , B rid g e to w n R e a lty ( 503 ) 287-9370 ( 503 ) 655-8015 G C ü M LS m \ 2138 E Burnside (503)231-4777 503 . 236.7521 “[The order] completes the process of removing all vestiges of anti-gay and -lesbian discrimination from the process of granting security clearances at the federal level claimed U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass). 3605 SE 22nd. Ave. Portland, OR 97202 V y u u u i Call for an appointment ArA A w A V m AVA rrAA%nAns%nAr Kids di!J E m ! BvA $? will »j9u! We *11 love tke freedom of two wkeelf. Here, *t kiver (ittj Picvjdef, we know tk*t evenirne needf * little fometkiM^ different in * KKe, ttutt'f wkvj we make (me we k*ve tke be(t tmd tke K^eft [election of Kkef und arcei(orie( for y<M to <koo(e fro*. Wketker yon re fO fftV wkeelief or riding to yonr nint to five, we’ve ^ot y* covered. ” access to the financial records of its employees, a measure which concerns some civil libertarians. The president’s move complements parallel efforts in employment matters. Over the last two years, individual departments and agencies of the federal government have added sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination clauses for employ ment. It is “an important step toward ending govem- mentally sanctioned job discrimination against gay and lesbian people,” said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. “[The order] completes the process of remov ing all vestiges of anti-gay and -lesbian discrimina tion from the process of granting security clear ances at the federal level,” claimed U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass). Praise also came from Bill Weaver, president of High Tech Gays, who said, “Sexual orientation has nothing to do with one’s trustworthiness.” older orders when there are conflicts between them. “The question becomes what you get when some homophobic agency security clearance di rector decides to invoke that.” Kameny is “left uneasy by that sort of thing.” He counsels “vigi lance.” Outright opposition to the executive order came from the radical right. “This is a moral slap at the face of the traditional family.. .because in all healthy societies, homosexuality is recognized as a pathol ogy with very serious implications for a person’s behavior,” said Robert Maginnis of the Family Research Council. Lesbians and gay men should still exercise some caution. While sexual orientation alone may no longer serve as the basis for denial of a security clearance, lying about it can be. Living a closeted life, ashamed of one’s orientation, may well be interpreted as grounds for potential blackmail and hence denial of a clearance. m. ss m sC v m C ;is A ' ' o A s K Ä t B U R L e y River City Bicycles § 706 SE Martin Luther King Bl. (Across from Corno’s, next to Morrison Br.) MON-FRI 10-8 SAT 10-6 SUN 12-6 _ S « ) » - J J - J 97 J I .