Openly Gay Man Confirmed To Head OPM

John Berry was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate very early Friday morning to be the head of the agency in charge of the nearly 2-million strong workforce of the United States government. The Office of Personnel Management used to be the agency responsible for firing known homosexuals will now have an openly gay man at its helm.

From The Advocate's coverage:

“I will do my best to ensure that our policies are inclusive and fair for all,” Berry said. “That is something that I believe will produce benefit not only for LGBT people, but essentially for every community of interest, whether it be disability, African-Americans, Hispanics, Latinos -- all the communities that need to be represented at fairer levels in our government.

“We need to draw upon the strength and diversity of our nation,” he continued, “and we need to treat and accord fairly each and every one of them with benefits, and training, and with promotional opportunities that are second to none. I will strive to accomplish that for all Americans.”

Berry will take his oath and step into his new role on Monday, April 13. He said he plans to invite Frank Kameny -- a gay rights icon who was fired by the federal government for his sexual orientation in 1957 -- to his formal swearing-in ceremony, which has yet to be scheduled.

I am glad to see that despite the reluctance of either the nominee or the Administration to be out front acknowledging Berry's open homosexuality, the OPM Director seems perfectly willing to address LGBT issues in the federal workplace.