Quietly, in my view (page A22 of the New York Times, page A18 of the San Francisco Chronicle), the State Department has promised to offer equal benefits and protections to the same-sex partners of U.S. diplomats. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton acknowledged that "Like all families, our Foreign Service Families come in different configurations."
The news came in a memorandum from Clinton to an association of gay and lesbian Foreign Service officers. It's a long time in coming and a welcome change, one that addresses issues of basic fairness and, as Clinton also remarked, one that will support recruitment to the State Department.
