In an internal memo sent to the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced last week that the State Department will begin granting equal benefits to the spouses of gay diplomats.

Secretary Clinton indicated shortly after assuming her role as head of the State Department that she intended to change the benefit rules for same-sex couples. At the first town-hall she held with employees of the State Department, Clinton said that she saw the issue “as an issue of workplace fairness, employee retention, and the safety and effectiveness of our embassy communities.”

She echoed those themes in her memo announcing the change:

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.

According to the New York Times, the new benefits granted same-sex partners include diplomatic passports, use of medical facilities, emergency evacuation from posts, transportation between posts, and training in security and languages.

All these benefits– in particular those safety-related elements like emergency evacuation for same-sex partners– are essential to the gay diplomats currently serving as part of the foreign service. Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration should be applauded for acknowleging the importance of change for the families of same-sex diplomats. But we should not allow this to become their demonstration of their commitment to the LGBT community.

It is an important step, but, if anything, it demonstrates only that they do believe in the importance of equality and their actions to the contrary are, at root, political calculations. So kudos, Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration, for this step toward justice. But let’s not let it distract us from larger, national fights that impact millions of LGBT people, same-sex couples, and families across the country.g

O’Malley’s proposed budget requires General Assembly approval by April 13, when the legislature adjourns for the year.

The governor’s plan fulfills a campaign pledge to the LGBT community.  O’Malley previously was mayor of Baltimore where he passed a similar benefits plan.  A number of other local governments in the state also provide partner benefits.

The governor previously attempted to introduce benefits in 2006 but that and other LGBT bills failed in the legislature.

Republicans continue to oppose providing benefits.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D) and Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chair Ulysses Currie (D) have voiced support, though Currie said that it is still early in the budget process.

Maryland would join fifteen other states and the District of Columbia in offering health benefits to state employees if the bill is enacted.

“This opportunity to expand health care will only require a minimal state investment, since Maryland can expect a less than 1 percent increase in enrollment, based upon other states’ experiences,” said Equality Maryland Executive Director Kate Runyon. 

“While Maryland’s investment will be small, it will have a huge impact on the health of many state employees who have been struggling to make ends meet and find quality, affordable care for their families.”

O’Malley’s proposed budget went to the legislature as hundreds of gays lobbied lawmakers for marriage equality legislation. A proposed bill failed to gain traction last year, despite having 49 cosponsors. A similar bill is to be introduced this year.

Among those joining the demonstrators was Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire who was invited inside to deliver the prayer in the Senate.

Robinson asked God to bless the legislators with “anger at discrimination in all its forms.” and for lawmakers to be blessed with “freedom from fear,” including fear of their next election and criticism from unpopular votes – both thinly veiled references to the marriage bill.