Put on hold, again

WE SAY Same-sex partners of federal employees should have full benefits.

The federal government is no exception when it comes to allowing spouses to get their health insurance through their husband or wife’s employer. However, same-sex partners of federal employees effectively aren’t considered a spouse; therefore, they aren’t allowed the full benefits.

Part of the reason for this is that the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that allows states not to recognize same-sex marriages, can essentially deny federal benefits to married gay couples by not recognizing their marriages.

On June 17, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum that extended some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. But it only grants some previously excluded benefits such as visitation or dependent-care and doesn’t allow full health insurance to these federal employees’ partners. When speaking of the memorandum as it pertains to increasing gay rights, “We all have to acknowledge this is only one step,” Obama said.

Obama hasn’t even been taking baby steps on the issue. During the spring, Obama decided against taking any steps toward repealing the Clinton-era policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,”  even though he promised to do so while campaigning.

“Change” takes time, sure. But if we wait for memorandum after memorandum to entitle full benefits – to treat gay men and lesbians equally – it’ll take forever. Instead, going after the Defense of Marriage Act would be a much smarter and faster plan. Unfortunately, again, the Obama administration has no intention on doing that. In fact, the administration recently submitted a disturbing brief actually in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, according to The New York Times.

After grandiose promises to the gay community of sweeping change, the president’s actions have been suspiciously slow. The lack of the administration’s progress on the issue of gay rights seems less about the time necessary to overcome obstacles and more about a lack of political will. Not attacking the foundational structure of the legislature that discriminates against gays and settling instead for the fringe is only helpful to a marginal degree.

The gay community expected more, and it’s understandably beginning to get tired of waiting.