ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that US society will reject continued attempts to defend discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the name of "family values" or "special rights" or "preservation of morale" or any other meaningless slogan. In 1999, the social work profession included nondiscrimination language based on sexual orientation in its newly developed Code of Ethics. The code goes well beyond advocacy on behalf of clients, to mandate self-advocacy as a means of ending discrimination against lesbian and gay social workers in social agencies and professional organizations. Organizations can expect more of LGBT employees to insist upon discrimination protection and equitable benefits in the workplace. Social work is an agency-based profession with well-recognized organizational skills in service delivery and formal and informal resources management. The growing literature on LGBT people in the workplace suggests that the most effective weapon against homophobia is for LGBT social work employees to come out.
