Fired Gay Teacher Gets His Apology — 42 Years Later
Decades after being fired for being gay, a Washington teacher is receiving an apology from his former school district.
Jim Gaylord, once a respected social studies teacher at Wilson High School in Tacoma, was fired in 1972 after confirming rumors of his homosexuality to the school’s vice principal.
The Olympian reports that after the termination, Gaylord embarked on a prolonged legal battle that progressed to the state Supreme Court. Ultimately, he lost his suit against the school, after a judge ruled that the district was within its rights to fire a teacher for being gay due to now-debunked associations between homosexuality and sex crimes. Although he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, it declined to hear the case.
Forty-two years later, the Tacoma School District issued a formal apology to its outed and ousted employee.
http://www.advocate.com/education/2014/07/14/fired-gay-teacher-gets-his-apology-%E2%80%94-42-years-later
Just one of the many reasons that coming out is so important and why over the years it has been hard to do.
= new reply since forum marked as read
long awaited and so very much deserved apology.
it takes time for people to realize their stupid homophobic beliefs and that's sad. however it was finally done.
kudos to Jim Gaylord.
And real justice would have been back pay 
much further to go.
Jim Gaylord 
From your link..
"Gaylord, who became a librarian after losing his job as a teacher, said the apology came as a bolt from the blue.
“Well, I tell you I never gave a great deal of thought to getting an apology, so this comes as a very pleasant surprise,” he said.
Addressing the crowd at the Sunday event, Miller took a conciliatory note, acknowledging that while the mistakes of the past cannot be undone, it is essential that they be recognized.
“We cannot make up for the mistakes of an unfortunate past, but we can at least acknowledge them and let those affected know that regret doesn’t end when the old guard moves on,” he said." 
