I can hardly believe it, but something good has come out of the White House. Several weeks ago, Scott Bloch, the head of the OSC (Office of the Special Counsel) reinterpreted protections of federal employees. He said that gay and lesbian employees could still not be fired for attending things like gay pride rallies and things, but that gays and lesbians had no protection if their supervisors took personnel action against them simply for being gay. Well, sounds like he's going to have to re-reinterpret:
White House Rebukes OSC Director--Hill Democrats Asked Bush to Respond to Removal of Gay Protections
The White House issued a statement on March 31 declaring that federal government policy “prohibits discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation” and President Bush “expects federal agencies to enforce this policy.”
The White House statement appears to be a clear rebuke of Scott Bloch, Bush’s recent appointee to head the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Bloch startled gay activists and members of Congress in February, when he said existing federal law does not protect gay federal workers from sexual orientation discrimination on the job.
The White House statement came just hours after Democratic members of Congress called for Bloch’s resignation or removal from office unless he reversed his decision to end non-discrimination protections for gay federal workers.
So that's some good news, anyway. Thanks to Mac for the details.