Rather than dwell on the placement of Dykes on Bikes in Pride parades, this community needs to push our congressional representatives and Attorney General Michael Mukasey to bring criminal charges against those Justice Department officials who systematically violated the civil rights of GLBT Americans who applied for posts at the Justice Department.

As widespread media reports made clear last week, Monica M. Goodling and other senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales devised ways to screen out GLBT candidates for both political and non-political posts within the Justice Department.

One aide designed a Google search string that others used to find any evidence that a candidate was gay or even supportive of gay rights. And the inspector general’s report found that Gonzales’ aides investigated whether a veteran prosecutor might be a lesbian having an affair with her boss, another female U.S. Attorney. Even though they found no proof of an affair, or that either woman was a lesbian, Justice Department officials still denied the woman a senior post she was otherwise best qualified for.

Justice Department officials contend that such conduct was not illegal, although they accede it may have violated civil service laws or internal policies. In their view, the applicants can sue and the taxpayers can pay.

That’s wrong. What occurred is a crime called “conspiracy to violate civil rights” based upon a protected characteristic, one’s real or perceived sexual orientation.

Supreme Court decisions have clearly established that federal and state governments may not deny equal protection of the laws to individuals based upon their sexual orientation. That Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause applies to state action, while the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause applies to federal action.

Federal law prohibits conspiracies to violate the civil rights of others. Of course, in most cases, it’s the Justice Department prosecuting other federal or state officials for engaging in such conduct.

Making Americans ineligible for federal or state posts based upon their sexual orientation is no different than excluding candidates based upon race, religion, gender or other protected characteristics, and when two or more people agree to engage in such conduct and actually carry out the plan, it’s a federal felony.

When the Justice Department has evidence that people plan to sell drugs, those folks end up in federal prison. But when a dozen Justice Department officials decide to deprive gays and lesbians of jobs solely because of real or perceived sexual orientation, nothing happens.

It’s time to send a wake-up call.

Because the persons responsible for these activities are still working in various capacities for the Justice Department, Congress should appoint special counsel to investigate and prosecute those responsible. Our local congressional representatives, Bob Filner and Susan Davis, along with Senators Feinstein and Boxer, all happen to be Jewish, and they know full well the so-called “litmus” test didn’t just single out gays.

Until folks start going to jail and suffer criminal penalties, these practices will continue because no one will take equality for gays seriously.

I can’t adequately emphasize the seriousness of this matter. It is not just the gay community that is at risk but all minorities.

The United States Department of Justice has enjoyed a deserved and hallowed reputation for being our nation’s last hope for the enforcement of civil rights for all. It’s supposed to be above the political fray and majority or mob rule. Anyone applying for a post with the Justice Department has to be committed to enforcing the rule of law and all U.S. Supreme Court decisions, not just those one agrees with.

It’s simply nauseating to consider that Monica Goodling, a graduate of Regent University School of Law (founded by Pat Robertson) was in charge of selecting prosecutors charged with enforcing civil rights law. Regent has no Jews, gays or blacks, and it is dedicated to not only criminalizing gay sexuality but to converting the U.S. into a fundamentalist Christian theocracy.

No wonder recent immigration judges hired by the Justice Department believe rape, torture and murder are tolerable conditions that gays and lesbians should have to endure in their home countries rather than obtain asylum here.