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.

Among the benefits that will now be granted gay diplomats: the right of domestic partners to hold diplomatic passports, government-paid travel for their partners and families to and from foreign posts, and the use of U.S. medical facilities abroad.

In addition, gay diplomats’ families will now be eligible for U.S. government emergency evacuations and training courses at the Foreign Service Institute, the message says.

The announcement, expected this week, was provided to the AP by a State Department official who is a member of the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies organization. Two department officials not affiliated with the organization confirmed its accuracy.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the changes.

Previously, the State Department had withheld some benefits from the families of gay diplomats, citing the Defense of Marriage Law, which had restricted federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

One former ambassador, Michael Guest, resigned from the foreign service in 2007 to protest the restrictions. Guest was a part of the Obama administration’s State Department transition team and played a major role in lobbying for the changes.

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

During questioning at her confirmation hearing, Clinton was asked by Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) about regulations that deny the same-sex partners of LGBT personnel the same rights as heterosexual spouses.

In saying she would review existing policies, Clinton noted that many foreign countries have already changed the policies to provide equal treatment for gay and lesbian staff of foreign affairs agencies.

The employee affinity group for the State Department, Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, said in a statement that it plans to present the incoming Secretary of State with a letter signed by over 2,000 current and former employees of the Department of State and other foreign affairs agencies requesting fairness for LBGT employees.

GLIFAA board members also met with members of President-elect Obama’s transition team at the Department of State in December.

GLIFAA President Michelle Schohn noted that gay U.S. diplomats and aid workers serve overseas “in some of the most dangerous locations, but continue to be denied equal treatment for their families.”

U.S. Foreign Service personnel – as well as civil service and contract employees – are required to serve a large portion of their careers at U.S. embassies and missions overseas.  However, the partners of  gay personnel receive no assistance while accompanying employees on these mandatory assignments.

Among many other obstacles, gay partners lack access to affordable health insurance coverage and resources for moving abroad.

During overseas tours, employees’ partners do not receive assistance in obtaining a visa and lack access to employment opportunities, emergency evacuation, and embassy medical units, all afforded to married, heterosexual couples.

Former U.S. Ambassador Michael Guest, who resigned in protest in 2007, was the highest profile Foreign Service Officer to leave the State Department due to its failure to redress inequalities in the treatment between heterosexual spouses and same-sex partners.

Guest became the first openly gay ambassador confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001 and earned a number of awards and accolades during his 26 years in the Foreign Service.

Clinton gave a polished performance Tuesday, offering well-prepared answers to questions on crises and trouble spots including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran, Cuba and Afghanistan. She offered few details about how she and Obama would handle those problems, except to say that in many cases they would offer a fresh approach after eight years of President George W. Bush.

She also deflected controversy as she dealt with uncomfortable questions about the international fundraising of her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Her confirmation as secretary of state is not in doubt, and she could be on the job as soon as President-elect Barack Obama’s first full day in office.