Norton Celebrates the Life and Heroism of Frank Kameny

October 12, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) issued the following statement on the passing of her friend, Frank Kameny, a leader in the national and local LGBT community:

"In this country, we revere those who make sacrifices for human rights--Martin Luther King, Jr., who we will honor on Sunday; Anita Hill, whose fearless testimony at the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing we celebrated last week, remembering the record number of women whose elections to the Senate and House was directly traceable to her conscious-raising testimony; and Walter Reuther, whose brilliance and fearlessness was instrumental to the growth of the American labor movement. Frank Kameny's pioneering sacrifices for the LGBT community place him alongside the nation's human rights heroes. Frank refused to suppress who he was to keep his job with the federal government. A World War II veteran with a Harvard PhD, Frank had everything going for him except, of course, the recognition of his identity and, thus, his legitimacy. When others had every reason to fear coming out, Frank took his dismissal from federal service (for which he later received an apology) as a badge of honor to "make gay good" long before there was a LGBT rights movement to follow him. By the time he died on October 11, 2011, Frank saw historic advances that bear his signature, including security clearances for gays in the federal government and the admission of gays into the United States armed services. Great human rights victories often begin with the courage of a single individual, like Rosa Parks and, yes, Frank Kameny."

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