Gays can be denied security clearance under new Bush rules

The Bush administration last year quietly rewrote the rules for allowing gays and lesbians to receive national security clearances. Lesbian and gay advocacy groups recently found the changes in an 18-page document distributed by national security adviser Stephen Hadley on December 29, without public notice.

The Administration said security clearances cannot be denied "solely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the individual." But it removed language saying sexual orientation "may not be used as a basis for or a disqualifying factor in determining a person's eligibility for a security clearance."

“The Bush administration’s stealth effort to allow discrimination against gay and lesbian citizens in receiving national security clearance is a step backward for a nation that holds itself out as a land of equality," said openly lesbian congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. "A person’s sexual orientation should not be considered in determining eligibility for access to classified information. Sexual orientation has no relevance to a person’s reliability, trustworthiness, or ability to protect classified information."

The White House sought to play down the changes, approved by President Bush in December, as an effort to ensure the security clearance rules are consistent with a 1995 executive order about access to classified information. "The minor language change did not and was not intended to alter the way sexual orientation is treated," National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones said Tuesday in Washington. "The U.S. government policy has not changed in any way." Jones said government lawyers made the changes for clarity.

Gay rights activists expressed concern that the new guidelines could lead to a chipping away of safeguards obtained in the 1990s for gays and lesbians seeking security-related government jobs. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Bush's rules could "open the door for broader interpretation" of rules granting security clearances for national security–related jobs. "It is not surprising to me that this administration is continuing to roll the clock back on the most basic of protections granted by the last administration," said Solmonese.

Several million civilian and military personnel who work for the United States government and its contractors must go through extensive reviews to determine if they've exhibited behavior that could compromise national security or make them susceptible to blackmail. Areas of concern include drug and alcohol use, criminal activity, financial debt, foreign contacts, and sexual behavior.

Officials at several national security agencies were not immediately aware of the new rules or any impact.

Rules approved by President Clinton in 1997 said that sexual behavior may be a security concern if it involves a criminal offense, suggests an emotional disorder, could subject someone to coercion, or shows a lack of judgment. The regulation stated that sexual orientation "may not be used as a basis for or a disqualifying factor in determining a person's eligibility for a security clearance."

Bush removed that categorical protection, saying instead that security clearances cannot be denied "solely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the individual." The new rules say behavior that is "strictly private, consensual, and discreet" could "mitigate security concerns."

Jones said the new language was meant to ensure the United States security clearance guidelines are consistent with Clinton's executive order. He said the order makes clear that the U.S. government does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation when granting access to classified information.

Steve Ralls, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.–based Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said his organization is still sorting out what the Administration intended so that attorneys can provide guidance to gay and lesbian personnel on how to answer questions during government background checks.

"It looks as if lesbian and gay service members especially may face some additional roadblocks to obtaining their security clearances," said Ralls, whose group advocates on behalf of gays and lesbians in the military.

He said his organization has been getting calls from service members who don't understand the changes. "In the law, subtlety can have even unintended major consequences. We are very concerned and curious," he said. (AP, with additional reporting by The Advocate)