If you’ve ever wondered why Title IX is important, look no further than Tulsi Gabbard’s latest move.
Yesterday, we got news that Gabbard was creating a memo that would essentially force LGBTQ+ employees out by claiming that any discussion of sexuality falls under “obscene, pornographic, and sexually explicit” content even in a private chat. Such a memo would allow the government to effectively purge queer employees from their ranks simply for engaging in an LGBTQ+ community support chat.
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It also seems to force queer employees back into the closet for job security, creating a new “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” mandate among government workers.
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1. Today, the NYT has reported that 100 members of an ERG-adjacent LGBTQ+ chat in the intelligence community have been fired. This is a new McCarthyism, a new lavender scare meant to remove LGBTQ+ in government, and the way this was done should shake us all. Subscribe to support my journalism.
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) February 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM
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Naturally, this aggressive move is reminding history-minded queer folks of something: the Lavender Scare of the 1950s.
History is repeating itself. There were more LGBTQ people removed from government during the lavender scare than were suspected communists during the red scare. They only really taught the latter in history classes. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavende…
— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) February 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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The “new McCarthyism” might look different, but it smells the same. When we allow government officials to define what counts as “sexually explicit” communication, we give them the keys to lawfully discriminate against us.
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