Record number of out gay officials in Obama administration
US president Barack Obama has appointed a “record” number of out gay officials since taking office.
According to estimates by gay rights campaigners and the White House, he has appointed more than 150 out gay people to posts in his administration since 2008.
President Bill Clinton held the previous record of almost 140 out gay employees during his eight years in office.
“It’s both significant and rather ordinary,” Michael Cole, spokesman for the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, told The Associated Press.
“It’s a simple affirmation of the American ideal that what matters is how you do your job and not who you are.”
Among Mr Obama’s appointments have been John Berry, who is gay and the director of the Office of Personnel Management, and Amanda Simpson, a Commerce Department official who is the first out trans person to serve in the administration.
