Several dozen people threw rubber gloves over the White House fence today in a protest over the Secret Service's treatment of gay officials of state and local governments who visited the mansion last week.

President Clinton has sent a personal letter to those gay officials apologizing for the "inappropriate and insensitive treatment" displayed by the Secret Service, a spokeswoman for Mr. Clinton said today.

Uniformed Secret Service officers, concerned that some in the group might have AIDS, had worn rubber gloves to conduct routine security searches of gay officials entering the White House.

Protesters strayed from the route of a Gay Pride Day parade in Washington to throw gloves over the metal fence that surrounds the White House and impale dozens of gloves on the spiked fence posts.