Everyone, and by that I mean every person in the United States if not the world, should read this seminal speech given by Frank Kameny in 1969. It surfaced recently among his papers in the Library of Congress and constitutes his statement on behalf of a gay man, Benning Wentworth, who was appealing the denial of a security clearance by the Defense Department.
We throw down the gauntlet, clearly, unequivocally and unambiguously. We state for the world, as we have stated for the public, we state for the record and, if the Department forces us to carry the case that far, we state for the courts that Mr. Wentworth, being a healthy, unmarried, homosexual male, 35 years old, has lived and does live a suitable homosexual life, in parallel with the suitable active heterosexual sexual life lived by 75 percent of our healthy, unmarried, heterosexual males holding security clearances; and he intends to continue to do so indefinitely into the future. And please underline starting with the word "and intends to do so into the future". Underline that, please, Mr. Stenographer.
To read this visionary speech and realize that not even 40 years have passed is to marvel at this country of ours. And at our good fortune in having Frank Kameny among us.
I'm told, by the way, that Benning Wentworth is still alive and well. Hats off to him, too. Imagine the courage it took for an open homosexual to stand up to the Defense Department in 1969.