Kerry Apologizes to LGBTs on Behalf of State Dept.; Will Obama Follow Suit?

by Susan Jones, CNSnews:

President Barack Obama is “proud of his record” in standing up for LGBT rights, but there are no plans at the moment for him to apologize for previous presidents who viewed homosexuality as abnormal or perverted, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, but I’m not aware that — that there’s anything that’s being cooked up to officially respond to that at this point,” Earnest said.

The topic arose after Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement on Monday, apologizing for the State Department’s past treatment of “LGBTI” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people:

In the past – as far back as the 1940s, but continuing for decades,” Kerry wrote, “the Department of State was among many public and private employers that discriminated against employees and job applicants on the basis of perceived sexual orientation, forcing some employees to resign or refusing to hire certain applicants in the first place. These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today.

“On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the Department’s steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for all our employees, including members of the LGBTI community,” Kerry concluded.

A reporter at the White House asked Josh Earnest why Kerry’s apology came so late, in the final days of the Obama administration:

Earnest said he has no idea what led to the timing of Kerry’s statement.

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