Nominated by Trump, Confirmed by Senate.
Although nominated by Donald Trump, Gilchrist has a long record of service to both Democratic and Republican officials. It should also be noted that Gilchrist would be approximately the 5th LGBT individual to serve in an ambassadorial role in the Trump administration.
For several years he was president of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, an organization of LGBTQ people and allies working in foreign affairs for the U.S. government.
Lithuanian is getting a little better when it comes to LGBT issues, but the laws and public opinion remain largely hostile.
The nation has no legal recognition for same-sex couples and has a law similar to Russia’s “gay propaganda” ban. It does have a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, but it is reportedly poorly enforced.
The four other openly gay ambassadors are U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell; U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry; U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia Eric Nelson; and U.S. Ambassador to Cabo Verde Jeff Daigle.
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