It’s taken President Barack Obama less than two years to do what President Bill Clinton did in two terms in office: set a new record for the most openly gay appointments in an administration. To date, President Obama has selected more than 150 such individuals for positions in federal offices, surpassing the 140 that Clinton appointed during his eight years in the White House.

 

The effort to include more homosexuals has helped assuage some of the disappointment that gays and lesbians have felt about the president’s approach toward the military’s “don't ask, don’t tell” policy. On the one hand, President Obama has publicly voiced his support for removing the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, while at the same time his Department of Justice has fought to uphold the policy in court.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Obama Appoints Record Number of Gay Officials (by Sam Hananel, Associated Press)

Presidential Appointments Project (Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute)