Oct 10
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Record number of homosexual officials serving in Obama administration
Oct. 27, 2010
Record number of openly gay officials serving in Obama administration
Canadian Press Newswire
WASHINGTON – Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in U.S. history. Gay activists, among Obama’s strongest supporters, say the estimate of more than 150 appointments so far – from agency heads and commission members to policy officials and senior staffers – surpasses the previous high of about 140 reached during two full terms under President Bill Clinton. ”From everything we hear from inside the administration, they wanted this to be part of their efforts at diversity,” said Denis Dison, spokesman for the Presidential Appointments Project of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute.
The pace of appointments has helped to ease broader disappointment among gay rights groups that Obama has not acted more quickly on other fronts, such as ending the ”don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military.