USA: The policies of the Clinton Administration with respect to gays and lesbians

In 1994 US Attorney General Janet Reno ruled that homosexuality could be grounds for asylum in the US (The Washington Post 17 Dec. 1996). From that time to December 1996 over 60 people were granted asylum in the US on that basis (ibid.).

President Clinton promised during his 1992 election campaign to end the legal ban on homosexuals in the US armed forces (Christian Science Monitor 16 Feb. 1996). However, after his election the president

dropped the idea to end the ban and accepted a policy known as "don't ask, don't tell." It bars inquiries about service members' sexual orientations and permits them to keep their preferences secret. But it allows discharges if service members who declare their orientations fail to prove they will not engage in homosexual acts (ibid.).

The president's "don't ask, don't tell" policy meant that the Defense Department could dismiss members of the armed forces for "openly gay statements or behavior" (AFP 6 Apr. 1996). This policy was upheld by the 4th Circuit Court in Richmond, Virginia on 5 April 1996, when the court ruled that the US Navy had acted properly in dismissing Lieutenant Paul Thomasson in June 1995 (ibid.). More recent information on the policies of the US armed forces towards homosexual personnel could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.

In a 23 May 1996 joint press conference held by President Clinton and Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, President Clinton was asked about his intention to sign a bill which would ban recognition of same-sex marriages under some circumstances. The president replied that he was personally opposed to discrimination against homosexuals, but the bill stated that marriage was a union between a man and a woman. He added that his understanding of the legal meaning of the bill under discussion was that it would permit a state to refuse to recognize as a marriage, a union between two people of the same sex which had been recognized as a marriage by another state. The president said that he would sign such a bill, adding that this was not a serious problem, because at that time only one state was considering recognizing same-sex marriages (US Newswire 23 May 1996). Information on whether the bill was signed could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.

On 29 May 1998 AP reported that President Clinton had signed an executive order banning discrimination against civilian employees on the basis of sexual orientation in all federal government departments (Clemens 29 May 1998). Before the issuance of this order, rules against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation had been implemented on an "agency-by-agency" basis (ibid.). Commenting on the executive order, President Clinton was quoted as saying that "individuals should not be denied a job on the basis of something that has no relationship to their ability to perform their work" (ibid.).

A 7 November 1995 article in The Times describes Roberta Achtenberg as "until recently an assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the most senior gay official in the Clinton Administration."

In 1997 President Clinton nominated James Hormel, an openly gay San Francisco businessman and contributor to the Democratic Party, as US ambassador to Luxembourg (Nando Times 20 Apr. 1998). As of 20 April 1998 the nomination had not been approved by the US Congress (ibid.).

A report in the Japanese newspaper Aera described Republican Senator William Cohen, who was appointed as Secretary of Defense by President Clinton in his second term, as opposed to "approving of gays in the military [although] he does show understanding for their rights"(23 Dec. 1996).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Aera [Tokyo, in Japanese]. 23 December 1996. "Japan, United States: Article Views Clinton Foreign Affairs Team." (FBIS-EAS-96-244 23 Dec. 1996/WNC)

Agence France Presse (AFP). 6 April 1996. "US Appeals Court Backs Discharge of Gay Naval Officer." (Global News Bank)

Christian Science Monitor. 16 February 1996. Jonathan S. Landay. "Clinton Busy Spit-Shining Military Image." (Global News Bank)

Clemens, D. < [email protected] > 29 May 1998. Clinton Bars Anti-Gay Job Bias Against Federal Civilian Employees. [Internet] < http://ww2.altavista.digital.com:80/cgi-bin/[email protected]@bit%2elistserv%2egaynet  > [Accessed on 16 Jul. 1998]

Nando Times. 20 April 1998. Jim Abrams. "Deciding Whether to Confirm Gay Ambassador." [Internet] < http://www.nando.net/ > [Accessed on 15 July 1998]

The Times [London]. 7 November 1995. Martin Fletcher. "Gingrich Policies Face Crucial Test in State Elections." (NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 17 December 1996. William Branigin. "Gays' Cases Help to Expand Immigration Rights; More Than 60 Homosexuals Claiming Persecution Have Been Granted Asylum in U.S." (NEXIS)

U.S. Newswire. 23 May 1996. "Transcript of Press Conference by President Clinton and German Chancellor Kohl." (Global News Bank)