James Hormel, first out gay US ambassador, dead at 88
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on August 14, 2021
Hormel served as US ambassador to Luxembourg from 1999 to 2000, weathering homophobic attacks and fierce opposition to him becoming a foreign envoy.
President Bill Clinton had first nominated Hormel for the diplomat job in October 1997. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced Hormel's nomination to the full US Senate that year, but a vote was blocked by conservative Republicans, who were outspoken against Hormel's gay rights advocacy.
After renominating Hormel in . . .
