Under the old system, the partners and families of LGBT employees working overseas were not allowed the same travel, medical benefits, or even the basic protections that the spouses of straight employees were afforded. It was so bad that LGBT partners weren't even included in emergency evacuations of Government employees and their families if one was ordered!
Clinton was asked about these policies, which were fully supported by her predecessor, during her confirmation hearing and gave a vaguely supportive answer about needing to take a hard look at this while noting that other countries had moved forward in that direction.
Now, the Secretary of State is ready to move the United States forward as well:
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.
"At bottom, the department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex domestic partners because it is the right thing to do," Clinton says.
I'm glad to see that at least one person in the Obama Administration is doing something about LGBT Rights, even on a small scale. It does make you wonder what things would have been like if Hillary Clinton had won the Democratic nomination last year. Would she, as President, be dragging her feet on issues of LGBT equality like President Obama is?
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