Brody's Notes... White House Remains Silent On Death Of Gay Civil Rights Icon

Photo By Brody Levesque

By Brody Levesque | WASHINGTON D. C. -- During the daily press briefing Friday, when asked to comment on the recent death of Gay civil rights icon, Dr. Frank Kamney, by the Washington Blade's senior political reporter Chris Johnson, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told him that he didn’t have an immediate reaction.

The Blade noted that upon learning of Kamney's death, John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, issued a statement, and subsequently wrote an op-ed for the Blade in tribute to Kameny. But no statement has come directly from the White House.

Berry in his op-ed said:

“Dr. Frank Kameny was an American hero who transformed our nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community,” Berry said. “His courage, his brilliance, his force of will led to victory in a decades-long fight for equality. He helped make it possible for countless of patriotic Americans to hold security clearances and high government positions, including me. And in so doing, he showed everyone what was possible for every employer in our country.”

When pressed by Johnson for an answer,Carney told him:

"I’ll have to take that. I’m not aware of — I mean, I know that he passed away, but I don’t have a comment on that."

The Blade also asked if President Barack Obama- who has honoured Kamney for his activist and national outreach work to help his fellow LGBTQ citizens- would be attending Kamney's public viewing on November 3rd in Washington, Carny fired back: "I’m not his scheduler."