Gay US diplomats to receive equal benefits

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that gay American diplomats will be given benefits similar to those that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, U.S. officials said Saturday.

In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are "unfair and must end," as they harm U.S. diplomacy.

"Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," she says in the message, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

"It will also help the department attract and retain personnel in a competitive environment where domestic partner benefits and allowances are increasingly the norm for world-class employers," she says.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090523/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_diplomacy_clinton

[foxfeet]

1. Good.

Now, about DADT and DOMA. . .

[WillParkinson]

2. Pity about the rest of us.

Just sayin'.

[No Elephants]

15. Exactly what are you "just sayin'?"

[WillParkinson]

19. I'm saying...

It's a shame that those of us with gay partners can't get the government to acknowledge them. That we can live our whole lives with someone (I've been with Paul for 21 years) and to the government we're nothing more than "friends".

That's what I'm saying.

[keepCAblue]

26. Federal income tax, for example...

If my legal spouse (we are among the 18,000 couples married in California before Prop H8's passage) and I were allowed to file "married" on this year's return, we would have been due a refund of over $3,000. Instead, we had to file separately as "single" and, as a consequence, both had to pay the feds.

In this economy, we could have dearly used that $3,000.

[SpartanDem]

24. nt

[cali]

17. yes, it is. I'm still glad to see this.

[CatholicEdHead]

3. Good for her

it is an obvious choice.

[Karenina]

4. Good!

Drip, drip, drip.

[Chipper Chat]

5. I like the way she snuck in the word "cohesiveness"

possibly as a subtle counterjab to Sam Nunn's 1992 "unit cohesiveness" mantra. Go Hill.

[Divine Discontent]

7. interesting catch - maybe so! eom

[Divine Discontent]

6. This is WONDERFUL news - Go O-Admin! (see, I congratulate the good) Because, this means D.A.D.T. is

soon to be

D.E.A.D.


Thank God. That only took way too long, but I'm very pleased to see who announced it! We need a country where GLBT citizens aren't told in one gov't situation that they're perfectly fine and receive full equality - but in other areas of the gov't they're shunned as something to be hidden.

:kick:

[Baby Snooks]

10. It has nothing to do with federal law....

She has merely changed the policy in one department. The way some corporations have. Just becuase one corporation extends "equal benefits" to "domestic partners" doesn't mean all corporations will. And in fact most corporations still don't.

This is about all you will probably see from this administration in terms of equality under the law unless Congress changes things and so far Congress doesn't appear to be willing to change anything at all. Not that Congress ever has in terms of equality under the law. It's always a vote or two short here and there.

DOMA is still there. DODT is still there. Both signed into law by Bill Clinton. You can praise Hillary Clinton if you want. I will not. Her husband should have picked up the pen and vetoed both and didn't.

Barack Obama could pick up the pen and suspend DODT and possibly force the issue with Congress. He could also expand this policy at the State Department. He could do a lot of things. That he isn't doing.

[No Elephants]

16. Bill Clinton did not only sign DADT. He originated it and got Congress to pass it. It was

an improvement over what existed before DADT, but was, and is, wrong.


As for President Obama, he is not acting on DADT. Not only that, but he is being dishonest about it, including in his letter to Tsao. Not only that, but, this month, he removed his campagin promise to repeal DOMA from the whitehouse.gov website.

[SpartanDem]

25. You sure about that?

He supports repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in a sensible way that strengthens our armed forces and our national security

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/civil_rights/

[TankLV]

33. BULLSHIT. Clinton pushed to END DISCRIMINATION OF GAYS IN THE MILITARY!!!!

DADT was the COMPROMISE solution only after the REPUKES and too many DINOS wanted outright BAN gays from serving!!!

YOU KNOW SHIT - AND STOP PUSHING YOUR FUCKING LIES!!!

Take your irrationals Clinton HATRED and GET OUT OF HERE!!!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

20. She has no authority to do what she stated

I support it 100% but she is can not do it

[TheWraith]

22. It has everything to do with federal law.

DOMA legally prevents the US government from treating a same-sex relationship as a marriage for any reason. Technically, this policy goes against that law.

And once again: I don't think that you really want Obama to follow the Bush track of deciding which laws the federal government does and doesn't have to follow. And even if he could suspend DADT, that would be more likely to PREVENT any congressional action than to provoke it.

[keepCAblue]

27. What you said...

(I couldn't have said any better).

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. Laudable goal and awesome soundbite. Have to wonder if she has heard of the OPM

and the other civil service processes that have to be gone through, not to mention Federal legislation and budget dances required. SecState does not dictate personnel policies, even in her own department.

[BR_Parkway]

14. That was my thought - great for her, but how will she be able to implement

it. And doesn't DOMA come into play here?

[EFerrari]

29. It would be a billiant way to diffuse the RW flap over DADT

if State asserted these rights first, no?

[Zenlitened]

9. K&R. An excellent step forward. - n/t

[Vidar]

11. Good for Hillary.

[tomm2thumbs]

12. K&R

[proteus_lives]

13. Good!

A positive step.

[No Elephants]

18. If she can implement it, great. If not, this is bs.

[ensho]

21. good

nt

[ohio2007]

23. in certain host countries, "Don't ask,don't tell" still the govt policy to follow

just sayin



btw,
I saw that Harvy Milk movie last not with Sean Penn and
it basically looks like nothing has changed in California in 30 years.

Except they don't hang them when the parades wind down like they do in other countries when they get "outed"

[Wednesdays]

28. K&R

:kick:

[jody]

30. Whatever authority Clinton has in this matter is also held by Gates. I'll wait until results are in

for the Department of Defense and Department of State before I congratulate Obama.

[totodeinhere]

31. Wouldn't that be a violation of the DOMA which her husband signed?

IMO a better approach would be to repeal the DOMA once and for all. I realize that Clinton does not control Congress, and only Congress can repeal it, but at least Clinton could change the position she held during the campaign which was that that the DOMA only needs to be revised, not repealed.

[TankLV]

32. Good news...

too bad birth control still isn't covered...

or did Obama end the AWOL War Criminal's EXECUTIVE ORDER?

[Q3JR4]

34. If she can do it, great.

If not (which is the direction I'm leaning) then any announcements in that direction are nothing more than political theater.

Q3JR4.
Obama administration about LGBT folk: Let them eat cake, unless (you know) we can make them think we're working for them while not actually doing a damn thing.... Yeah lets do that instead.