Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 08:50:05 -0400 From: Mary Ann Murphy Subject: Security Clearance for Gays Following is this month's sample letter on lesbigay issue. It is for President Bill Clinton his email address is PRESIDENT@WHITEHOUSE.GOV If you do send a letter, make a phone call or send an E-mail message on this issue please let us know. We need to know whether our efforts are effective. September 15, 1995 The Hon. Bill Clinton, President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Clinton: I wish to personally thank you for issuing the executive order in August concerning security clearances for homosexuals. Your executive order officially ended the assumption that homosexuals can't be trusted with national secrets and ended the government's discrimination based on "sexual orientation" in the granting of security clearances. As Elizabeth Birch, of the Human Rights Campaign Fund stated, this is "an important step toward ending governmentally sanctioned job discrimination against gay and lesbian people", and you are to be congratulated for making this politically courageous decision at this time. This order puts to rest the unfounded and unproven assumption that all gay people are at risk of being blackmailed or otherwise compromised because of their sexual orientation. Barney Frank, D- Mass., who has worked with both the Bush administration and your administration to change this policy on homosexuals, summed up the feelings of most people who support this decision when he said, "We all know that innumerable lesbians and gay men have served their country loyally and well throughout its history without betraying its trust or giving away its secrets." Again, I wish to congratulate you for issuing this executive order, and I hope that you will continue to support efforts to end all discrimination against citizens of our country based on sexual orientation. Yours truly,