An internal memo by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week announced the State Department plans to offer benefits to same-sex couples.  The document sent from Clinton to an association of gay and lesbian foreign service officers said the department planned on offering both equal benefits and protections to the same-sex partners of diplomats.

The benefits that will be given to same-sex partners include use of medical facilities at overseas State Department locations, granting diplomatic passports, medical and emergency evacuation privileges, training in security and languages and transportation between State Department posts.  Gay & lesbian diplomats have lobbied for the changes in State Department policy for years.  Granting same-sex couples identical benefits to those of heterosexual couples is long overdue throughout the entirety of the Federal government.  An enormous number of businesses and institutions - from international law firms, universities, financial firms, and coporations of all stripes - already offer same-sex couples benefits for a very simple reason: they want the best people available to work for them and will do what it takes to compete for them.  In a Federal government that is continuing to expand its reach, the same philosophy needs to be implemented across the entire work force.

LINKS:

NY Times: Diplomats’ Same-Sex Partners to Get Benefits

UPI: State Department offers same-sex benefits

ABC News: US diplomat same-sex couples get equal benefits