New life has been breathed into The LGBT Congressional Staffer Association on Capitol Hill. The group's goal is to "facilitate communication" among LGBT staffers working in the U.S. House.

Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade writes:

"In recent years, Simpson said the organization had the appearance of being dormant because it was continuing a commitment made when it was founded of protecting the identities of members who weren't openly gay.

'They wanted that soft influence on policy and they wanted to protect the identities of their staffers, and that doesn't lend itself to being the most vocal organization,' he said.

But Simpson said LGBT staffers on the Hill in recent months wanted to give new life to the organization, to make it more open and 'continue on with the legacy of breaking barriers' that emerged when the association was founded.

Simpson said the group has been in the process of being reinvented for the past three to six months and, as part of its re-launch, tweaked its bylaws and took on the LGBT Congressional Staff Association name."

Politico also reports on the group:

"For some staffers, this means coming out of the closet — for the second time.'Our objective here is really to build on the visibility the [founders of the group] gave us,' said Natalie Fernandez, the newly elected communications director for the group who works for Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.). 'Our new bylaws encourage our members to make their identities more public than the original. It's a lot safer to be an open [lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender] Hill staffer these days, and we're going to take full advantage of those benefits.'"

(image washington blade)