Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, and Tim Walz are among 125 members of Congress who have petitioned Secretary of State John Kerry to improve opportunities for LGBT diplomats and retaliate against countries that discriminate against the spouses of LGBT state department employees, Buzzfeed reports.
“We cannot look the other way when an American diplomatic spouse — any American diplomatic spouse — is discriminated against in this way,” the Congress members wrote. They asked that the state department deny visas to the spouses of diplomats of countries that discriminate against LGBT diplomats.
“If a foreign government refuses to issue the appropriate visa to same-sex spouses, we ask that the State Department reciprocate by denying a visa to the spouse of a diplomat from that country,” the letter states.
The Congress members were also concerned about the fact that LGBT Foreign Service Officers are denied equal opportunities because the State Department would refrain from assigning them to countries that discriminate — in many cases a move that prevented career advancement. In April, Buzzfeed reported on numerous FSOs who said such practices derailed their careers.
The letter to Kerry stated: “We are deeply concerned about reports that LGBT FSOs are sometimes denied an equal opportunity to represent the United States abroad because certain foreign governments refuse to accredit same-sex spouses.”
GLIFFA, the officially recognized organization supporting LGBT personnel and their families in the foreign service, praised the letter in a statement on Monday.
“These American families want nothing more than to serve their country,” said GLIFAA President Regina Jun. “But less than half of U.S. government positions abroad are in countries where we know our families can safely join us. To us, this isn’t even about the word ‘marriage,’ but about the word ‘family.’ The Members of Congress have asked for reciprocity and fairness. If these countries won’t let our American families in, why does our country continue to admit all of their families?”
Here’s the entire letter:
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