I. Recently Released Documents Reveal the Culture and Language of Animus Against LGBT Americans.

Although the MSDC has identified thousands of pages of previously undisclosed government documents, there are three areas that best demonstrate the culture and language of animus against LGBT Americans that are relevant to this Court’s review.

First, in the 1940s and 50s, the federal government began a purge of homosexuals from federal service, beginning with the creation of the FBI’s Sex Deviate Program and culminating in the adoption and implementation of Executive Order 10450. With the official support and encouragement of the President and the director of the FBI, the federal government instituted a policy of pure revulsion against homosexuals and engaged in a concerted effort to identify and remove them from government service.

Second, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the predecessor to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), implemented the purge. In stark and unforgiving terms, officials at the CSC wrote of their policy of excluding homosexuals from federal service. They worked closely with leaders in Congress and the states to ensure that this policy stretched beyond federal agencies. And, when faced with opposition from the courts, the CSC shifted and altered its approach, but with the same purpose—to keep homosexuals from equal status.

Finally, the culture and language of animus went so far that it even extended to those who were heterosexual, but “suspected” of being homosexual. The case of William Dew demonstrates that better than any other. A black man, married with three children, Dew fought for years to regain his position with the federal government—a position that was taken from him because of acts that he engaged in prior to employment. It took the intervention of this Court to end Dew’s ordeal and restore him to his position.

Next: Argument (2)