As we are on the brink of Pete Buttigieg being the first openly LGBT cabinet member a trip down

[dsc]

memory lane.

In 1993, Roberta Actenburg was named as an Asst Secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. She got confirmed 58 to 31. Five Democrats voted against Byrd, Matthews of TN, Sasser of TN, Shelby of AL (now GOP), and Hollings of SC. In addition, several GOP Senators, including relative moderates such as Dole and Warner (the Republican Warner of VA). It took until 1995 for gays to be able to get security clearances and until 1998 for gays to stop being discriminated within most departments of the federal government (uniformed military being an obvious exception). All of that is within the last 30 years.

It was 2003, a mere 17 years ago, before sodomy was no longer illegal in 14 states. Those laws made it harder for gays to get professional licenses and custody of their children among other issues. My first teaching license specifically mentioned the Mississippi sodomy law. That was 25 years ago.

And now, an openly gay man will be in the US cabinet, assuming he is approved by the Senate. Honestly that is huge. He will certainly get every single Democratic vote, including Manchin who is currently holding Byrd's seat. He also is likely going to get most GOP votes. That is huge.

The fact is being openly gay or lesbian let alone transgender is risky in many occupations. As young as Pete is, he was alive while LGBT citizens were banned from wide swaths of the government that he will now be leading a part of. I was a young adult when Pete was born (I turned 18 in 1985). The fact is that was still a world that in most places had no gay teachers, no lesbian lawyers, and no LGBT politicians. Honestly in those days, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, today seemed so far away.

I can't wait to see what Pete brings to this job.

[cilla4progress]

1. Best person for the job -

all that matters! I think this will be high-profile in this new admin. Great potential.

Pinch me!!

[LakeArenal]

2. Pete could qualify for just about anything. Cabinet member works for me.

[JanMichael]

3. Best reason I've heard so far. nt

[LuvNewcastle]

4. I'm just a couple years younger than you,

becoming 18 in 1987. It was a weird time for a gay kid to be growing up. As soon as I was reaching puberty and realizing I was gay, AIDS came on the scene and I just said , "awww, fuuuck!" It cast a pall on my formative years and warped me for good. I associated sex with dying.

So yeah, besides the other stuff, gay people were becoming more visible during the 90's, and it was starting to get easier to be yourself and have a normal social life. When Bill Clinton came on the scene and started speaking about gay people openly, and especially about gays in the military, it was a really big deal. Don't Ask Don't Tell was a kind of a wimpy compromise to what Clinton originally called for, but it was a hell of a lot better than what they had before, with military people stalking troops in gay bars and other places. They were doing some creepy things to gay people in the military before DADT.

After 2000, we saw a lot of the barriers come down between gay people and having a life that could be enjoyed in the open air. It's something else, something I thought I'd never see when I was hearing preachers calling AIDS God's judgement on the gays. But in some ways, I kind of miss the feeling of doing something that's not accepted by society. You meet interesting people in those situations. But life today is, all in all, much nicer than it was back then.

[Miigwech]

5. Big! Waiting all my life ...

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Historic.

And a powerful reminder, that diversity comes in a variety of forms.

[JI7]

7. People who support progress should be happy with this

[Aussie105]

8. They are, I am.

But his private life, who cares?

Competence at the job is where it's at. A factor sadly neglected by the failed Trump Fascist Regime.