L.A. Woman Ejected from Federal Building for Wearing Lesbian Shirt
Wednesday 27th August 2008
A t-shirt bearing the web address of “lesbian.com” seems innocuous enough, but in the U.S. it caused a woman to be ejected from a federal government building and, allegedly even threatened with arrest by a Department of Homeland Security hired security guard.
A lesbian couple and their children in New Zealand. Image by Emily Walker.
Lapriss Gilbert, 31, is an African-American lesbian living in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys. On Monday she entered the Social Security office to pick up a Social Security card for her son.
Shortly after her arrival Gilbert was stopped by a security guard, who demanded that she either leave the building or face arrest because her t-shirt, which bears the address of a lesbian resource site, was offensive. The guard worked for Paragon Security, a private company which was hired by the Department of Homeland Security.
Gilbert told the Los Angeles Daily News: "As an African-American and a lesbian, I haven't been through one day without facing some sort of discrimination ... but this is just shocking."
Gilbert’s exile from the federal building was short-lived. She called her mother, gay rights activist Tanya Gilbert, who called the police. Before the authorities arrived, however, a different security guard invited Lapriss Gilbert back into the building and personally escorted her to the front of the line.
The first guard was said to have defended their actions by pointing to a document The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property as proof that their actions were allowed. However, according to Lori Haley, from a Homeland Security Department branch, told the LA Daily News that: “We believe that the actions of the contract security guard were inappropriate and unacceptable - we have notified his company, Paragon, of our position in the matter."
The blog Lesbiatopia later claimed to have spoken to a HSD contact who said the department will be investigating Paragon and its training policies. Tanya Gilbert is now considering a lawsuit against Paragon Security.
Related Articles:
Judge Rules Schools Must Allow Gay Pride Shirts
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the gay issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
A lesbian couple and their children in New Zealand. Image by Emily Walker.
Lapriss Gilbert, 31, is an African-American lesbian living in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys. On Monday she entered the Social Security office to pick up a Social Security card for her son.
Shortly after her arrival Gilbert was stopped by a security guard, who demanded that she either leave the building or face arrest because her t-shirt, which bears the address of a lesbian resource site, was offensive. The guard worked for Paragon Security, a private company which was hired by the Department of Homeland Security.
Gilbert told the Los Angeles Daily News: "As an African-American and a lesbian, I haven't been through one day without facing some sort of discrimination ... but this is just shocking."
Gilbert’s exile from the federal building was short-lived. She called her mother, gay rights activist Tanya Gilbert, who called the police. Before the authorities arrived, however, a different security guard invited Lapriss Gilbert back into the building and personally escorted her to the front of the line.
The first guard was said to have defended their actions by pointing to a document The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property as proof that their actions were allowed. However, according to Lori Haley, from a Homeland Security Department branch, told the LA Daily News that: “We believe that the actions of the contract security guard were inappropriate and unacceptable - we have notified his company, Paragon, of our position in the matter."
The blog Lesbiatopia later claimed to have spoken to a HSD contact who said the department will be investigating Paragon and its training policies. Tanya Gilbert is now considering a lawsuit against Paragon Security.
Related Articles:
Judge Rules Schools Must Allow Gay Pride Shirts
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the gay issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
