August 27, 2008

Kicked Out of Federal Building for Lesbian.com T-Shirt

But, wait! Brace yourself for some shockingly good news: A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration — no friend to ‘mos — said the homophobic security guard was “out of line,” and has complained to his company about his “inappropriate and unacceptable” behavior! Will wonders never cease?

T-shirt gets Van Nuys woman
kicked out of federal building

VAN NUYS — A routine trip to the Social Security office Monday turned into 30 minutes of shock, disbelief and irritation for Lapriss Gilbert, who was forced to leave the federal building by a guard who objected to her “lesbian.com” T-shirt.

As she headed for a line to pick up a Social Security card for her son, Gilbert was stopped by a guard who said her T-shirt, naming an educational and resource Web site for gay women, was offensive.

She said the guard, who works for a private company hired by the Department of Homeland Security, demanded that she leave the building or face arrest. …

Lori Haley, a federal spokeswoman for the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — which is under the Homeland Security umbrella — said the guard was out of line.

“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,” Haley said. …

[Gilbert’s mother, Tanya Gilbert] said she plans to contact her attorney today to file a lawsuit against the Paragon Security Company. …

When the mother arrived, she called the LAPD to protest her daughter’s removal. But before four Los Angeles police officers arrived with at least one federal agent, Lapriss was told she could come back into the building and was escorted to the front of the line by another Paragon security guard. …

In a statement to police, [witness Paul Dumont] said the guard’s “loud, unreasonable, aggressive and angry approach to the situation almost caused chaos.” …

We’re not lawyers, but we think the Gilberts should still file suit; it sounds to us like the guard clearly violated Gilbert’s First Amendment rights.

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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