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Ending Discrimination in Security Clearances
The Lavender Scare, a period of anti-gay discrimination in the US government, was brought to an end in 1995 with an executive order signed by President Bill Clinton. This order explicitly stated that sexual orientation could not be used as a reason to deny a security clearance. The end of the Lavender Scare marked a shift from government hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community to a role as an affirmative protector of citizens' rights. Thousands of individuals had been fired or forced to resign due to their sexual orientation during this period, with the State Department alone firing 1,400 suspected gay men and lesbians in the 60s.