Gay fed. employees want more from Obama

Source: ABC Local KGO

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- This afternoon President Barack Obama is expected to sign a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination. It will give some benefits to the same sex partners of federal employees in the civil service and the Foreign Service.

The benefits package calls for inclusion in the long term care insurance program, sick leave that can be used to take care of domestic partners, and for Foreign Service employees, the use of medical facilities at overseas posts.

What are not included are health care benefits.

Greg Pennington has been a federal employee for 25 years. He works for the EPA in the San Francisco office. He calls the president's move a good step, but wishes it went further. He belongs to a national organization called Globe which is comprised of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender federal government employees. So does Cheryl Hanley. She says gay and lesbian employees have been waiting a longtime for equal treatment and finds it ironic that even working for the United States government, she still does not have parity in terms of benefits with her heterosexual co-workers.

Openly gay Congressman Barney Frank was defending the limitations of the President's Memorandum. Frank says the President went as far "as he can legally go," adding that it is now up to Congress to change the law.

Read more: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=6870179

Don't look for it in this lifetime and maybe not even the next one.

Anyone into reincarnation?

i will be reincarnated as a beautiful butterfly........

...was putting people in the same home under the same umbrella.

If there is some sort of partnership, such as a marriage certificate or civil union, including partners, children, adapted children, or extended family permanently living under the same roof, IMO, there should be a plan for them. Limiting our options to an "ideal" sort of nuclear family simply doesn't reflect the realities of the world we live in.

Multi-generational families and non-traditional families are a reality, sometimes by choice, sometimes by circumstances.