Equality: Coming Soon to a Federal Employee Near You
Alyssa Rosenberg clues us in on an unheralded major development-in-the-making for equal rights for gays and lesbians. It all starts in the National Zoo:
President Obama has just made John Berry, the current director of the National Zoo, the highest-ranking openly gay appointee ever by tapping him to head the Office of Personnel Management (pending Congressional approval). As an assistant secretary at the Interior department under President Clinton, Berry fought to end a wide range of discriminatory policies, including background checks for gay and lesbian applicants for National Park Service law enforcement jobs, and worked to set up a grievance process for employees who were harassed because of their sexual orientation.
The Office of Personnel Management might not seem like a bully pulpit for a gay rights advocate like Berry. But, unlike workers at more than half of the Fortune 500 companies, the 1.8 million employees who fill the ranks of the federal government don’t have domestic partnership benefits. Their partners can’t participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, a plan that’s been considered a potential model for health care reform. They can’t benefit from retirement programs. And if gay federal employees move for work, their partners can’t benefit from relocation programs.
To extend equality in domestic partnership benefits would actually require legislative change. Here, though, OPM switching sides from the Bush administration’s opposition will make a difference as well, of course, the election results. But beyond that specific issue, there are going to be countless small ways in which having OPM be on the side of equality will make a difference for the federal civilian workforce. And since that workforce is enormous it’s both a big deal for a large number of people and also something that to an extent helps set standards and expectations for a larger swathe of the economy.
21 Responses to “Equality: Coming Soon to a Federal Employee Near You”
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March 5th, 2009 at 9:05 am
It makes perfect sense, since homosexuality is as closely correlated with bestiality as IQ is inversely correlated with penis size.
For black people, bestiality and homosexuality are usually combined to desire one’s own race as well as one’s own gender.
It also satisfies the basic narcissistic urge to make love to oneself common in all homosexuals.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:06 am
NO NO NO. Its time we stand up and say Equal Rights for all, Special Rights for none!
Gays have Equal Rights to straight people in most aspects of our society, the military being a big exception. With marriage Gays and Lesbians have the same rights that everyone else in the population has – they can marry someone of sufficient ago of the opposite gender who is not already married to another person.
What these folks are asking for is special treatment, and its high time we drew the line. So, its time we stand up and say Equal Rights for all, Special Rights for none! Repeal DADT, but keep the OPM rules!
March 5th, 2009 at 9:15 am
What, a loveless sham marriage isn’t good enough all of a sudden? You want some kind of special right to have your actual family recognized, like straight people? Well la-di-da-da!
March 5th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Steve, I thought you were joking til I clicked through and read a bit of your blog.
Now I just want to cry for America.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:25 am
With marriage Gays and Lesbians have the same rights that everyone else in the population has – they can marry someone of sufficient ago of the opposite gender who is not already married to another person.
But isn’t this still a little permissive? I mean, ugly people could still get married under this regime. In addition to sex, wouldn’t it be better for the government to come up with a few additional specifications? For example, maybe people should only be allowed to marry others with the opposite hair color. Equal rights for everybody!
Also, what’s up with prostate exams? I think doctors and health insurance plans should only be allowed to offer breast exams. No more special treatment for men. Make it the same for everyone.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Also, isn’t it unsightly when couples have one very short partner and one very tall one? Or one very skinny one and one very fat one?
Everyone should only be allowed to marry people of exactly the same height and gender adjusted body mass index. Equal rights for everyone!
March 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Fake Steve Sailer at 9:05pm,
Are you freaking kidding me? You think you’ll convince people with that? Stop screwing around and get serious about this. Or step the hell aside for someone that can be a real fake Steve Sailer.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
What’s that giraffe doing?
March 5th, 2009 at 9:35 am
And don’t get me started on ice cream. There are all kinds of perverse flavors out there. Vanilla. Chocolate. Mint [shudder] chip.
Everyone should have equal rights to eat ice cream. Equal rights to eat squid ice cream that is, which god says is the only righteous flavor.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Aside from everything else, Mr. Sailor has made a scientific claim, namely that there is a negative correlation between penis size and intelligence. Would Mr. Sailor care to cite a scientific study on this matter that supports his conclusion, preferably one that has some statistics to back it up.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:10 am
What’s really needed is equal tax treatment for domestic partner benefits. Right now if you get health coverage at work for your partner the employer paid portion of the health care cost counts as taxable “imputed income”, and of course the premiums are post tax rather than pre tax. So for most plans that’s an extra $5,000 or $8,0000 to your taxable income as opposed to nothing if you’re married the “right” way.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:24 am
With marriage Gays and Lesbians have the same rights that everyone else in the population has – they can marry someone of sufficient ago of the opposite gender who is not already married to another person.
Incidentally, aside from the moral vacuity of this position, it’s logically vacuous as well. It basically rests on the idea that the statement:
Does not entail any “special” rights, but that somehow this statement:
…does confer “special” rights on someone.
From where I sit, both statements apply to everyone.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:35 am
That fake Steve Sailer is about an 11. You need to dial back to about an 8.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
On behalf of all of Matt’s readers who live in DC:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he’s gay, good for him. What I want to know is whether the OPM’s office is going to get a sweet ski lift like the one that John Berry is getting for the National Zoo. You could have one end at GW Metro, the midpoint at the OPM office at 19 & E, and the other end hanging from the top of the Washington Monument!
March 5th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I like how the crazy people on this blog are generally crazy about two different, unrelated things. Hector is crazy about Catholicism and communism; Don Williams is crazy about the plutocracy and the digital TV switch, etc.
Now we learn that JimboSlice is crazy anti-Israel (not sane anti-Israel but, like, calling for Israel’s extermination) and crazy anti-gay marriage. It’s good to have a variety of interests, it keeps life interesting.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Hector is crazy about Catholicism
My understanding is that Hector is an Anglican or Episcopalian of some sort, not a Catholic.
March 5th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Experience running a zoo will probably be very helpful for managing a large diverse workforce.
March 5th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
JimboSlice,
The law under question isn’t about gay marriage, it’s about benefits for domestic partners, which is a separate issue.
March 7th, 2009 at 11:49 am
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April 8th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
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April 15th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Hey, cool tips. Perhaps I’ll buy a glass of beer to the person from that forum who told me to go to your blog