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New security clearance rules may harm gay public servants

BTL Staff

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration last year quietly rewrote the rules for allowing gays and lesbians to receive national-security clearances, drawing complaints from civil rights activists.
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.
The regulation stated that sexual orientation "may not be used as a basis for or a disqualifying factor in determining a person's eligibility for a security clearance."
George W. Bush removed that categorical protection in December 2005, saying instead that security clearances cannot be denied "solely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the individual."
The new rules say behavior that is "strictly private, consensual and discreet" could "mitigate security concerns."
"My hope is that this language change is mere bureaucratic tinkering; or has some benign explanation," said gay conservative commentator Andrew Sullivan in his blog on March 16. "But my fear is that some within the administration made this change and did it for a reason. The new rules seem to qualify what was once a clear renunciation of sexual orientation being in any way an issue for security clearance. The protection now seems to refer to 'strictly private, consensual and discreet' gayness. Could that mean that if you're out of the closet, the government may discriminate against you in security clearances?"
The White House sought to play down the changes, approved by George W. Bush in December, as an effort to ensure the security clearance rules are consistent with the 1995 Clinton executive order about 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 spokesman Frederick Jones said March 14. "The U.S. government policy has not changed in any way."
However, at March 15 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan seemed unsure exactly what had changed about the policy.
Asked about the change in language, McClellan said, "I don't know what language you're specifically referring to, because I think the language is very similar to what it says in the executive order and the policy remains the same."
Gay civil rights activists expressed concern that the new guidelines could lead to a chipping away of safeguards obtained in the 1990s for gays and lesbians seeking security-related government jobs.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Bush's rules could "open the door for broader interpretation" of rules granting security clearances for national security-related jobs.
"It is not surprising to me that this administration is continuing to roll the clock back on the most basic of protections granted by the last administration," said Solmonese.
Lesbian and gay advocacy groups recently found the change in an 18-page document distributed by National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on Dec. 29 without public notice.
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. Officials at several national security agencies were not immediately aware of the new rules or any impact.
Given the reason for the screenings, the new rules make no sense, according to Sullivan.
"The only gay men and women who might have problems are precisely the closeted ones: they're the only ones conceivably subject to some kind of blackmail; whereas openly gay people have nothing to fear and nothing to hide," he wrote March 16. "So the change seems to serve no rational purpose, except, perhaps, to intimidate gay people in government service into being closeted. And the Bush people would never do something like that, now, would they?"
Jones said the new language was meant to ensure the U.S. security clearance guidelines are consistent with Clinton's executive order. He said the order makes clear that the U.S. government does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation when granting access to classified information.
Steve Ralls, spokesman for the Washington-based Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said his organization is still sorting out what the administration intended so that attorneys can provide guidance to gay and lesbian personnel on how to answer questions during government background checks.
"It looks as if lesbian and gay service members especially may face some additional roadblocks to obtaining their security clearances," said Ralls.
He said his organization has been getting calls from service members who don't understand the changes. "In the law, subtlety can have even unintended, major consequences. We are very concerned — and curious," he said.
Additional reporting supplied by The Associated Press

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