Yikes!

A Clinton-era military official compared gays to Nazis and rapists in a White House meeting: http://t.co/QTM44m7dMu pic.twitter.com/aTLboZGSq7

— Slate (@Slate) October 12, 2014

The release of a trove of papers from Bill Clinton’s White House puts that on stark display, illustrating common it was for people in position of power to talk about gays in horrifically discriminatory ways without consequence. The notes come from a sit-down between Bill Clinton and top military officials shortly after he moved into the White House to discuss his campaign promise to end the ban on gays in the military. The most shocking part of the notes released from that meeting come from Marine Commandant Gen. Carl Mundy, who “may have been the most strident opponent of allowing gays to serve openly,” according to Politico. Mundy, who died earlier this year, said that “proclaiming I’m gay” was the “same as I’m KKK, Nazi, rapist” because it’s a declaration that “I commit act America doesn’t accept,” according to the notes.

We’ve come a long way.