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Thursday, June 23, 2011

ATF hosts 1st Gay Pride Observance Despite Scandal

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Wednesday sponsored its first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month program at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. despite being embroiled in a controversial probe.

As part of the program, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson provided remarks while Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) served as Wednesday's keynote speaker.
 
The celebration was in recognition of the accomplishments and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to ATF and the nation, and to promote awareness of the LGBT culture.

ATF works to ensure sexual orientation discrimination and prejudice are not tolerated in our workplace, said Melson.

"ATF is an equal employment opportunity environment where effective and equitable participation is encouraged. We are grateful that the Honorable Rep. Frank could share his experiences with our workforce as we celebrate diversity today," he said.

Congressman Frank spoke about his experiences serving as an openly gay congressman for the 4th Congressional District of Massachusetts and his rise to Democrat stalwart status.

ATF created its LGBT affinity group called ATF Pride with the primary goal of ensuring equal employment opportunity and enhancing development opportunities for LGBT employees at the agency, according to its press office.

The ATF has been underfire for an alleged operation that contributed to the deaths of Americans.

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15 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

2:28
You hit the nail on the head!
This is ,always will be the perfect agenda for a democrat.

ConservativeAtheist said...

@2:28 and 2:35

Hey guys? You post stuff like this and then wonder why people call conservatives bigoted. While I agree with the message that the ATF should have nothing to do with this issue or any like it... the way you present is caustically bigoted, and very "unchristian".. if that's the sort of thing you subscribe to.

Also, be careful to not paint all democrats the way you are doing now... It would be as if someone painted me, a conservative, as being a bigot...
because they saw your post and assumed I felt the same way because I identify as conservative.

Point being.. the way you present your argument discredits the intent by the content. Make sense?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ConservativeAtheist said...

@3:04

Your post is vague, and really does not make much sense concerning the blog post.... but could it be that you are replying to someone else here and just forgot to identify that person?... and if you are doing that... I am still WAY confused as to just what it is you are trying to say as it is very unclear... and can only conclude that you don't really know what it is either...please to correct me on this.

So... what exactly were you trying to articulate, with relevance to the blog post, or the forum posts here?

Anonymous said...

3:14, A wonderful reply. I'm not sure that 3:04 will understand what you're writing, as he apparently can only deal with simple words. (So don't use "vague" or "articulate." These are too difficult for the writer.

Anonymous said...

isn't that special....
one more agency we should close down.

Anonymous said...

2;55. You began your post with " hey guys". Who said we were guys? And you call me a bigote. Do not try to impress me with the konwledge of vocabulary. Perhaps you are gay yourself. Thats why you were offended with my post. Thanks, Susan

Drew said...

Curse words are forbidden on here but the word faggot is? That whole first comment is totally offensive.

And yes I am one.

Anonymous said...

You're correct, 5:03. The word "faggot" has no more place this blog than the "n word." Both are offensive. I wouldn't be too put off, however, as 2:28 doesn't sound too bright. Not only can he not spell "faggot," but his ending sentence is clearly off the wall (implying that all Democrats are gay or gay-loving.

G. A. Harrison said...

Anon 1930 (and all our readers) -

You are absolutely correct. I apologize for not catching this earlier. The term used (I won't even spell it) has no place here and is in direct violation of our comment policy.

The offending comment has been deleted as well as an additional comment mentioning the (real or perceived) sexual orientation of an elected official.

While SbyNEWS does not shy away from personal confrontation, one of my jobs is to help make sure that this confrontation does not slide into personal attack or outright bigotry.

Again, my sincere apologies.

Drew said...

G.A. Harrison

Thank you

Anonymous said...

GA, I made no personal attacts on anyone. So I may not use the word Muslem on this blog because it may offend others. Give me a break. I thought this blog was for people who wished to express different opinions. Your comment of " preceived", is bull. Never think that my comments are preceived. The humor you have been receving from me for the promotion of Joes blog is over. Thanks for the fun, John Riggin, Delmar Md. Have a good day.

Jaycee said...

They say "ignorance is bliss".

dan said...

Conservative - Remember that conversation we had about the value of anonymous commenting? This is some really high-brow stuff here. How is that working out for you?

Susan @ 4:45 - It is "bigot" and "knowledge."