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.
"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," said Gilbert, 31.
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.
A security guard identified by Gilbert as the one who told her to leave declined to comment.
The guard cited the document, The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property, as proof of his jurisdiction over Gilbert's attire, she said.
The document does not specifically address what type of clothing
is allowed in federal buildings. After being kicked out of the federal building, Gilbert called her mother, Tanya Gilbert, who calls herself a longtime activist for gay rights. The mother and daughter have had same-sex partners for many years. Tanya Gilbert said she plans to contact her attorney today to file a lawsuit against the Paragon Security Co. "In 30 years as an activist, this is one of the most unsettling things I have seen. When she called me I told her to wait right there," said Tanya Gilbert, who recently moved to the Van Nuys area from Chicago. 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 Gilbert was told she could come back into the building and was escorted to the front of the line by another Paragon security guard. Paul Dumont said he witnessed the entire incident. "For her to be told to leave was completely unnecessary, especially considering how peaceful and quiet she was responding to the security officers," Dumont said. "Nobody in that office felt her T-shirt was offensive by any means." In a statement to police, Dumont said the guard's "loud, unreasonable, aggressive and angry approach to the situation almost caused chaos." An attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union said that instances of sexual discrimination are rare in federal buildings. "I haven't seen this type of blatant discrimination in a federal office building before," said Peter Eliasberg, a family attorney for First Amendment rights who spoke on behalf of the ACLU.
