Lesbian T-Shirt Gets Woman Booted from Federal Building

All she wanted to do was pick up a social security card for her son. But because she wore a t-shirt with "Lesbian.com" written on it, Lapriss Gilbert was forced to leave the federal building in Van Nuys, California. A security guard objected to her t-shirt and said she had to leave the building. This in the state with one of the most progressive gay rights laws and legal same-sex marriage. How could the word "lesbian" be offensive? The guard, an employee of a private firm contracted by the Department of Homeland Security cited the document, The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property as evidence of his authority to ask Gilbert to leave the property.

Gilbert said, "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."

At least the Department of Homeland Security isn't supporting the security guard. A spokeswoman for the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said, "We believe that the actions of the contract security guard were inappropriate and unacceptable."