Court Backs CIA Firings if Gay Is a Security Risk

WASHINGTON — The CIA should be given broad authority in firing an employee who is a homosexual if a security risk is involved, a federal appeals court said Friday.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court had erred by not allowing the CIA director enough leeway in the case of a CIA electronics technician who was dismissed in 1982 about 3 1/2 months after he told the agency he was a homosexual. The case was remanded to U.S. District Court for further proceedings.