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Sec’y of State Clinton May Revisit Benefits for Gay Foreign Service Officers’ Familiesby Kilian MelloyTuesday Jan 27, 2009 During her confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated that the State Department may revisit rules concerning the same-sex partners of foreign service officers.
Clinton, asked about the subject by Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold, replied that the time may have come for a "hard look at the existing policy."
Now that she has been confirmed, Clinton has received a letter signed by almost 2,200 federal employees asking for the issue to be addressed.
The letter read in part, "We believe that no colleague of ours is a second-class colleague, and no colleague’s family is a second-class family," reported a Jan. 27 article at the The Washington Post.
The majority of those who signed the letter were heterosexual or unmarried, according to J. Michelle Schohn, who presides over Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, which was responsible for the letter.
The article cited Schohn as saying that recently things had gotten a little better for the families of gay and lesbian State Department employees, but that there was much that remained to be done.
The issue came to national attention in November of 2006, when a State Department veteran of more than a quarter century left the department in protest over policies that treat gay and lesbian families differently from straight ones.
Michael Guest, who served the Bush administration as an ambassador to Romania, among other duties, quit the department, saying in a speech to his colleagues, "I’ve felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner, who is my family, and service to my country."
Added Guest in his Nov. 20, 2006 speech, "That anyone should have to make that choice is a stain on the secretary’s leadership, and a shame for this institution and our country."
Guest went on to serve on President Obama’s transition team, the article said.
Schohn was cited as saying that despite some gains, same-sex partners of State Department employees are still denied travel expenses to get to assignment locations overseas, as well as opportunities to work at American embassies, appropriate passports and visas, and emergency evacuation.
The letter addressed these shortcomings, reading, "We question the logic of leaving same-sex partners to fend for themselves during an emergency evacuation of a high danger post."
Added the letter, "We are embarrassed when the Department will reimburse a variety of moving expenses, including the cost of transporting a pet, when an employee is assigned overseas, but will not do the same for a same-sex partner."
During her confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Clinton was addressed by Sen. Feingold, who said, "There’s widespread recognition of the need to build a more robust and effective diplomatic and development corps.
"And as a part of that effort, it, of course, makes sense to consider ways to address challenges faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, particularly relating to domestic partner benefits and State Department policies that make it difficult for the partners of foreign service officers to travel and live at overseas posts.
"What would you do as secretary of state to address these concerns? Will you support changes to existing personnel policy in order to ensure that LGBT staff at State and USAID receive equal benefits and support?"
To Feingold’s query, Clinton replied, "Senator, this issue was brought to my attention during the transition. I’ve asked to have more briefing on it because I think that we should take a hard look at the existing policy."
Continued Clinton, "As I understand it--but don’t hold me to it because I don’t have the full briefing material--but my understanding is other nations have moved to extend that partnership benefit.
"And we will come back to you to inform you of decisions we make going forward."
An official at the State Department confirmed that Clinton had gotten the missive, saying, "The secretary wants to review this soon and plans to hear from all relevant stakeholders," the Washington Post reported.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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