Senate Confirms Lesbian as Judge of U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Daniel Reynolds | Advocate | September 17 2013

An out lesbian has been confirmed as a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, according to the official website of the U.S. Senate.

The Senate confirmed Elaine Kaplan by a vote of 64-35 at 12:03 p.m. today. Kaplan, who currently is the acting director of the United States Office of Personnel Management, had been nominated for the position by President Barack Obama in March.

She will serve a 15-year term in this judgeship, where she will hear monetary claims against the federal government.

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Civil Unions, Domestic Partnerships Officially Unequal

John M. Becker | Bilerico | July 9, 2013

A popular argument among those who oppose marriage equality is that same-sex couples don’t need marriage itself because they can get equality in rights and benefits under an institution with another name, such as civil unions or domestic partnerships.

However, in a series of memos recently released by the Office of Personnel Management in response to last month’s Supreme Court decision striking down the heart of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government makes it crystal clear that “separate but equal” relationship recognition structures are not equal at all.

The Washington Post reports:

The Obama administration will not extend federal-worker benefits to domestic partners under the Supreme Court ruling that overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act, meaning the government will treat civil unions differently than legal same-sex marriages.

The Office of Personnel Management made that announcement in a series of memos to federal benefits administrators and insurance carriers, saying couples who are not legally married “will remain ineligible for most federal benefits programs.” However, any existing benefits provided to domestic partners will remain intact, OPM said.

So there you have it: only same-sex couples who are legally married will be able to access federal employee benefits. Civil unions and domestic partnerships are inherently unequal to marriage. Another anti-gay right-wing argument obliterated!

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Openly gay man to be next US ambassador

AAP | Herald Sun | June 25, 2013

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has nominated public administrator John Berry as the next US ambassador to Australia.

Mr Berry, who must be confirmed by the US Senate before he can take up the appointment, will be the first openly gay US ambassador to serve in a Group of 20 nation.

The 54-year-old former head of the Office of Personnel Management – which oversees the US public service – will replace Jeffrey Bleich.

A date has yet to be set on when Mr Bleich steps down from his Canberra role.

Mr Berry hails from Maryland and studied at the University of Maryland and Syracuse University.

Previously he has held posts in the US Treasury Department, the Smithsonian Institution, and the US Department of the Interior.

He lives in Washington DC with his partner Curtis Yee.

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Obama Nominates Three More Gay Ambassadors

John Gallagher | Queerty | June 19, 2013

Raise a lot of money for the winning presidential candidate, and you’re next  title may be Ambassador. That’s no less true for President Obama’s gay donors.  The president has  nominated two of his gay backers to plum positions in Europe.

Heading to Denmark (if confirmed) will be Rufus Gifford, who was finance  director of Obama’s re-election campaign (you know, the one that pulled in more  than$700 million.) Gifford is a long-time Democratic finance official who helped  raise $30 million for Sen. John Kerry’s unsuccessful presidential campaign in  2004.

James Costos, an HBO vice president, was chosen as the next ambassador to  Spain. Costos wrote checks for more than $67,000 to help the president and  Democrats last year. The Human Rights Campaign described him as “a  true citizen of the world.” Both Gifford and Costos will be  representing the U.S. to countries that have approved marriage equality.

Obama has also tapped an openly gay State Department official to serve as  ambassador for a multinational government organization. David  Baer was nominated to head the Organization for Security and  Cooperation in Europe, which focuses on  early warning, conflict  prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation for  security issues, including arms control.

Still in the wings for his ambassadorship: John  Berry, former head of the Office of Personnel Management.

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