Federal prisons get LGBT reps


by Timothy Cwiek | 2 days 22 hrs ago | Retrieved from the Internet on September 2, 2012 by SJ


http://www.epgn.com/view/full_story/19976632/article-Federal-prisons-get-LGBT-reps


The Federal Bureau of Prisons recently supplemented its workplace-diversity program by adding an LGBT representative at each of its 125 prisons and administrative offices nationwide.

BOP director Charles E. Samuels Jr. outlined the new initiative in a memo issued in March.

"We should cultivate tolerance and embrace our differences," Samuels stated in the memo.

Chris Burke, a spokesperson for the BOP, said every BOP facility has a designated LGBT representative.

Additionally, the BOP recently committed to hosting at least one event a year at each BOP facility that specifically addresses LGBT issues, he said.

The new duties of the LGBT representatives will be folded into their existing job responsibilities — and won't exceed 20 percent of their overall tasks.