let freedom ring

Fantastic news of the day: PROP 8 WAS OVERTURNED! While this matter will surely be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (and then likely to the SCOTUS), Judge Walker's 136-page decision thoroughly and effectively memorializes the weaknesses of the arguments set forth by the Prop. 8 proponents. The constitutional right to marry, Judge Walker said, "protects an individual's choice of marital partner regardless of gender." He also said domestic partnerships in California are a "substitute and inferior institution" that lack the social meaning and cultural status of marriage. Additional choice quotes from the holding:

That the majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, as ‘fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.


Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.


The sexual orientation of an individual does not determine whether that individual can be a good parent.


Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.

Haters, see you in the Ninth Circuit.  Justice prevailed today!

As my lovely wife Eva said, "THE CASTRO IS GOING TO BE OFF THE MID-CENTURY MODERN BENCHES TONIGHT!"  (she's so cute.) She was right. This is what took place outside of our window in San Francisco's Castro District:

(Photo Credit:

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The SF Chronicle)

FAQ re: Foreign Service (for friends and fam)

Since receiving an invite to join the 156th A-100 class, we have received many questions from family members and friends. I realized everyone had pretty similar inquiries, so below you'll find a short FAQ:

What is the Foreign Service?

The Foreign Service is a branch of the U.S. Department of State that represents the United States’ interests abroad. A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a diplomat.  There are five career tracks that an applicant must choose from before becoming an FSO:

•   Consular: Consular Officers protect Americans abroad and strengthen U.S. border security
•   Economic: Economic Officers promote economic partnerships, development, and fair trade
•   Management: Management Officers run our embassies and make American diplomacy work
•   Political: Political Officers analyze political events
•   Public Diplomacy: Public Diplomacy Officers explain American values and policies

I am on the Political track.  More info on Political officers from the State Department:

As a Political Officer, you’ll keep a trained eye on the political climate at your foreign post and decipher events as they relate to U.S. interests, negotiations and policies. As you learn new skills and enjoy outstanding benefits, you’ll communicate with foreign governments to seek support for shared goals, including votes in multilateral fora, in addition to:

• Developing foreign contacts in and out of politics and government to advance U.S. political interests
• Assessing the impact of political developments on the U.S. and making recommendations on action by our government
• Supporting high level visits and advising policymakers on how to communicate with foreign governments

Note, however, that each FSO is obligated to doing consular work for one year (and often 2-3 years). Because I passed the Mandarin exam and accepted bonus points for doing so, I also committed to serving in a Mandarin-speaking country at least once before being tenured (e.g., in one of my first two posts), and once after being tenured.

Where will you be posted?

Entering FSOs sign contracts for "worldwide availability."  We all start with a five-week "bootcamp" of courses/orientation colloquially called the A-100. These courses are taught in the Foreign Service Institute at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia.

At the beginning of training, each A-100 class is provided with a bid list, which lists all the countries available with open posts. We will have a couple weeks of bidding, where we will rank the posts as High, Medium and Low.  While the Dept of State may take your ranking into consideration, “the needs of the Department are paramount.”  We will go where we're needed.  During the last day of training, each class has a Flag Day. Each class member gets a flag  representing the location of our first assignment.

The nature of our first assignments will govern the type of specialized training that follows. That training may include public diplomacy training, consular training, political-economic tradecraft, or management training. Required language training can last for an additional six to nine months. Overall, newly hired FSOs can expect to spend from three months to one year in training before departure for their first overseas assignment.

What will Eva be doing?

The Obama Administration recently made policies and regulations as applicable to same-sex partners and spouses more inclusive.  See my earlier posts on this topic and Secretary Clinton's remarks.  Eva will be traveling with me as a "trailing spouse."  Unfortunately, because of DOMA, Eva will not receive the health insurance or pension benefits  that opposite-sex spouses of Foreign Service Officers receive.  We are hoping that the legislature will soon pass the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act (DBOA), which would allow us to enjoy the same family benefits already provided to employees with different-sex spouses.

Eva will, however, be eligible for the following (from the State Dept website): diplomatic passports, inclusion on employee travel orders to and from posts abroad, shipment of household effects, inclusion in family size calculations for the purpose of making housing allocations, family member preference for employment at posts abroad, use of medical facilities at posts abroad, medical evacuation from posts abroad, emergency travel for partners to visit gravely ill or injured employees and relatives, inclusion as family members for emergency evacuation from posts abroad, subsistence payments related to emergency evacuation from posts abroad, inclusion in calculations of payments of overseas allowances (e.g., payment for quarters, cost of living, and other allowances), representation expenses, and training at the Foreign Service Institute.

I'll let Eva answer the question as to what else she'll be doing while we're on assignment. Those of you who know my extraordinary wife are well aware that she's an ambitious, intelligent woman who will make her own opportunities!

Secretary Clinton on integrating LGBT rights

Secretary Clinton gave a very heartful and eloquent speech on the integration of LGBT* rights with US foreign policy earlier this week at an event celebrating Pride Month.  I just adore this woman. The transcript is at the link.  [*I prefer the term "queer" for political reasons, probably as a result of too many women's studies classes at Smith ;) ]

Referencing her famous quote from Beijing 15 years ago about women’s rights being human rights, Secretary Clinton said, "Let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all.”

LA pride

I flew down to LA last weekend to visit some friends and celebrate LA Pride. I had a great time catching up with one of my best friends from high school, one of my best friends from college, and one of my best friends from law school... pretty perfect weekend. 

Obama extends benefits to same-sex spouses & partners of federal employees

Good news for civil rights today. President Obama just signed an executive memorandum directing all federal agencies to extend fringe benefits to gay and lesbian employees, to the extent permitted by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA continues to constrict federal action granting FSOs in same-sex partnerships and marriages from enjoying certain benefits, such as health insurance and pension benefits.

Here's the statement from the White House.

"Last year, I issued a Presidential Memorandum that instructed the Office of Personnel Management and the Secretary of State to extend certain available benefits they had identified to gay & lesbian federal employees and their families under their respective jurisdictions. Among those benefits were long-term care insurance and expanded sick leave for civil service employees and medical care abroad, eligibility for employment at posts, cost-of-living adjustments abroad and medical evacuation for domestic partners of foreign service members.

"In that same Memorandum, I called upon the federal agencies to undertake a comprehensive review and to identify any additional benefits that could be extended to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees under existing law.

"That process has now concluded, and I am proud to announce that earlier today, I signed a Memorandum that requires Executive agencies to take immediate action to extend to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees a number of meaningful benefits, from family assistance services to hardship transfers to relocation expenses. It also requires agencies that extend any new benefits to employees' opposite-sex spouses to make those benefits available on equal terms to employees' same-sex domestic partners to the extent permitted by law.

"While this Memorandum is an important step on the path to equality, my Administration continues to be prevented by existing Federal law from providing same-sex domestic partners with the full range of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. That is why, today, I renew my call for swift passage of an important piece of legislation pending in both Houses of Congress -- the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act. This legislation, championed by Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, would extend to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees the full range of benefits currently enjoyed by Federal employees' opposite-sex spouses. I look forward to signing it into law."

Obama extended specified benefits to domestic partners of FSOs last year, but this effectively means that same-sex coupled FSOs will receive at least one additional benefit. The President finalized a regulation that makes same-sex partners eligible for long-term care insurance.

Bill could extend benefits to same-sex partners

Eva and I are legally married under CA law (we were one of those lucky couples that married after the California Supreme Court decision and before the passage of Proposition 8).  We are fortunate enough to reside in San Francisco, where it's very seldom that we face any type of homophobia, and certainly never in the workplace.  All my prior employers in the public and private sector have thus far afforded the same benefits to opposite and same sex spouses/domestic partners of their employees.

Sadly, this is not true of the federal government.  One major source of concern for us when contemplating joining the FS was the disparate treatment of same-sex couples.  Before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama extended specified benefits to domestic partners in 2009, same-sex partners/spouses had to be listed as Members of Household (MOH), one class below that of an Eligible Family Member (EFM).  This meant that same-sex spouses & partners of Foreign Service Officers were ineligible for diplomatic passports, use of medical facilities at overseas posts, medical and other emergency evacuation (note: pets were authorized to be evacuated in emergencies with the FSO, even if same-sex partners were not), transportation between posts, and training in security and languages.

President Obama justly issued an Executive Memorandum (not an Executive Order, meaning it could expire with his office) to recognize same-sex partners as EFMs and extend the aforementioned benefits to them.   However, due to statutory restrictions placed by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same-sex partners and spouses of FSOs remained precluded from qualification for a range of other benefits, including federally-provided health insurance and pension benefits.

Digger over at Life After Jerusalem  recently posted an update re: the 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (S. 1102).  If passed, this would allow Eva to receive the same benefits that spouses of my future heterosexual colleagues would receive.  I've cut and pasted the Washington Post article below:

Senate vote on same-sex benefits 'within weeks'

The Senate could vote on a bill extending fringe benefits to the same-sex partners of gay federal employees "within weeks" and well before July 4, according to aides to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.).

The Nutmeg State senator is lead sponsor of the measure, which would cost an estimated $310 million through 2020, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

That's a notable, but not terribly hefty price tag by Washington standards, and Lieberman is fine with the anticipated cost.

“This legislation would cost about two-hundredths of a percent of the federal government’s overall costs for the civilian workforce," Lieberman said Tuesday. "That is a very small price to pay for the improvements we would see in recruitment, retention, and morale. OPM has committed to provide an offset for the legislation before it is enacted, making it that much more reasonable.”

Indeed those offsets -- first requested by Lieberman and Senate Republicans in December -- aren't ready yet and won't be until Lieberman is ready to introduce the bill to the full Senate, according to an OPM spokesman.

Lieberman's bill may win some Republican votes, but a House version passed last year with no GOP support. The House bill also covers eligible federal retirees, giving it a heftier price tag that the GOP considers unacceptable.

"At a time when unemployment is at 9.9 percent, it’s absurd that Democrats would push a costly new benefit for federal employees when so many Americans in the private sector are out of work," said Frederick Hill, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which first approved the benefits bill. "This legislation is a good example of how this Congress and administration have neglected efforts to rein-in spending and create jobs in favor of an agenda to satisfy their political base."