It Took Gay Ambassador 6 Years To Realize His Partner Gets No Federal Benefits
Contrary to his statement, this has everything to do with “gay rights”. He was appointed by President Bush in 2001, to be Ambassador to Romania, just 5 years after the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Michael Guest quit in protest, 11 years after the act and 6 years after taking his ambassadorship:
“Most departing ambassadors use these events to talk about their successes . . . But I want to talk about my signal failure, the failure that in fact is causing me to leave the career that I love,” said Mr. Guest, 50, whose most recent assignment was dean of the leadership and management school at the Foreign Service Institute, the government’s school for diplomats.
“For the past three years, I’ve urged the Secretary and her senior management team to redress policies that discriminate against gay and lesbian employees. Absolutely nothing has resulted from this. And so I’ve felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner ” who is my family ” and service to my country. That anyone should have to make that choice is a stain on the Secretary’s leadership and a shame for this institution and our country,” he said.
Among the inequities cited by Mr. Guest and other gay diplomats: unlike heterosexual spouses, gay partners are not entitled to State Department-provided security training, free medical care at overseas posts, guaranteed evacuation in case of a medical emergency, transportation to overseas posts, or special living allowances when foreign service officers are assigned to places like Iraq, where diplomatic families are not permitted.
He took the job knowing that his partner would receive no benefits. No unmarried government employees are not able to get benefits for their domestic partners without marriage. Yet it took him 6 years to quit. The Secretary of State does not change the rules, Congress does. Faiz can try to spin this anyway he choses, but the fact remains that this is a federal law, and not George Bush trying to discriminate on a whim.
H/T to memeorandum
December 5, 2007 - 04:33 PM on December 5th, 2007
[...] It Took Gay Ambassador 6 Years To Realize His Partner Gets No Federal Benefits [...]