Little did we know that today we would be thinking about the importance of this cause more than ever. You see this week I was diagnosed with stage 3 liver toxicity. This is not something that just pops up out of the blue it comes from prescription medications given for pain post op that are prescribed with a dosage of tylenol that shouldn’t be taken in a weeks time let along a few days.
To fill you all in on the back story, I had gone in for what is called a Vegus Nerve Stimulator it is a device that helps Epilepsy patience gain control over their disease and run a semi normal existence.
I had hoped that by taking this step with my health care would make it so Hersband and I could go on the road and work with local groups on every local level to work for marriage equality. We never set out to be who we are it just sort of fell into our laps and we felt that since we had been graced with a voice that many wanted to hear, we had a responsibility to stand up for those who could not.
So we launched the Marriage Equality Tour in hopes that we could change hearts and minds for equality.

We had no idea that we would end up living one of the very reasons we need marriage equality for the most. Partner hospital visitations and the right to be the voice for the partner when they have no voice of their own.

You see I had my surgery and all went ok, until a dr insisted on giving me a post op pain med with Tylenol in it (I did ask for no Tylenol) Because of the high dosage of Tylenol in the drug within the first 3 days post op I knoticed a marked increase in swelling of the feet and hands. by the 4 day I was feeling very ill and so on… We have been to see my primary dr a few times who finally did a liver function test and noticed that my level had gone from 21 to 124 Normal is not above 60 So my liver is officially toxic. Because of all the symptoms that I have had it is categorized stage 3 liver toxicity.

So now we are running to the dr it seems like every day and having expensive tests done along with trying to live. I have been unable to work for a short time now, imagine that to be in a position where you have a job but cant work because you are sick when everyone else is looking for work.
So we have been away from our normal social networking media outlets recently because we have been so focused on my health and getting better that we thought it time to explain to everyone where we have been and what is going on.
Please everyone keep us in your prayers and thoughts. I appreciate all the well wishes that have been extended my way so far and cannot say thank you enough to everyone for the prayers extended our way.

What is it they say when the going get tough the tough get going? well this tough cookie is getting going on getting better because we still have a tour to get going. We may be postponing it so that we can regroup but we fully plan on pointing out how important the rights we now lack are to couples like us across this country.

I know that this blog isn’t written very gracefully, but please know that Just keeping a thought in my head right now that makes sense is hard enough but also trying to write it out before it escapes me is even harder.
My love and thanks to you all,
Wife

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Women March in NYC for the right to vote 1913

The woman’s suffrage movement was one of the first civil rights fights back in 1918. Women all over the nation were fighting for their civil right to vote, but in many cases faced the opposition in fear of physical harm. When looking back at that struggle we as Americans think how silly our country was to withhold something as simple as the right to vote on the notion that women were too simple to be able to understand what would be at stake with voting rights.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony would be proud of the progress that women have made not only on the voting front but also within the job market. Women not only have the right to vote now but also to hold any office in this great land. We are very close to having our first women president in office as seen in this past election with Hillery Rhodham Clinton’s race and lets not forget Geraldine Farraro who ran for the office of vice president.

The woman’s suffrage movement and the Abolitionism movement went hand in had as women saw themselves on the same level as Slaves in the context of civil rights. Stanton and Anthony both organized the countries women and made them understand the importance of their right to vote and the urgent nature of abolishing slavery.  Neither Stanton nor Anthony got the chance to see the first woman use her right to vote on Nov 2, 1920, Nor did they live to see slavery abolished, but their work lives on in every civil rights battle since they began.

Abolitionist movement flyer for impending meeting.

As for the Abolitionism movement; the rights of slaves to be free would not be so easily won without major conflict. The battle for the slaves would end in bloody battles fought in the civil war (the war between the states) that would have the north and Lincoln being proclaimed the winner. Being the winner on the fight to abolish slavery would not mean however that the slaves would gain the right to vote, it only meant that they could live free without a “master” to serve.  The slaves in the United States would see their freedom prior to the women gaining the right to vote, so the civil rights battle raged on.

Once the slaves were free, the woman gained the right to vote now the freed slaves had to contend with a segragated south and the lack of voting rights. Flash forward to the 1950’s when a young black preacher named Rev Martin Luther King entered the scene after hearing about Rosa Parks being arrested for sitting on a bus in the “white section”.  Black folks still do not have the right to vote, nor do they have the right to live unsegregated from their Anglo counterparts.

Right about now is when you are saying to yourself ” enough with the history lesson what does all this have to do with the GLBT civil rights fight of today?” Well Im getting there but all this background is important to speak about because all the civil rights fights tie together.

Civil Rights march with MLK in front.

Now back to the Rev. Martin Luther King jr and Rosa Parks; Rosa was a good woman who was only on her way home from work after a long hard day, she was tired and sat on the bus when the bus driver moved the “colored” section back one row and asked her to give up her seat to a white man. The key here is finally someone was tired, not only physically but also mentally of the bully tactics that were bieng used to keep the south segregated.

We all know the story about how segregation was struck down and the right to vote was won due to the efforts of Rev. King and his followers, we also know about his assassination and the impact that it had on this great nation. But do you see the parallels yet in any of these struggles to those of GLBT Americans? There were GLBT people who gave their lives for the civil rights fight of the 1950’s. Bayard Rustin(March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) though he did not give his life in the fight, he was along side Rev. King during the civil rights fight. Bayard was not only a black man he was a GAY black man.  Let us not forget the freedom riders who were a mixture of black, white, male, female, gay and straight students who set out from Washington DC in 1961 bound for Mississippi.

Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving the plaintifs in Loving V. Virginia

The next battle front in the civil rights fight was that of segregation in marriage laws. Many Americans today do not understand why until 1967 there were 40 states that had laws on the books prohibiting mixed race marriages. The federal government in the case of Loving v. Virginia stated that the laws were unconstitutional and love could not be legislated. Many states held their interracial marriage laws on the books for many years after the Loving case, as a matter of fact the last law was struck down in the year 2000 in Alabama.

This brings us to the civil rights battle of today, where GLBT people are fighting not only for the right to marry but the right to exist in a society with DOMA laws and DADT rules. If you have stayed with me this long you should by now see the parallels if you did not see them before. The civil rights battles have been going on from the founding of the colonies in America. The last hurdle to overcome is the battle of marriage for GLBT people. Many would say that we need to battle DADT first but I personally believe it is the marriage battle that should be won then all else will fall into place. Humor me for a moment longer and I will explain. DOMA (the defense of marriage act) that was placed by President Clinton in 1996 (not Bush) was enacted when it was feared that Hawaii would gain civil marriage for GLBT people. President Clinton also enacted the DADT rule for the U.S. Military. If the DOMA law were to be repealed and we as GLBT people gain the right to marry on a federal level then the military can no longer enforce DADT because marriage equality would be legal making it also legal to state who you are married to. Benefits would have to be extended, once again making it hard to enforce the DADT rule. So with the repeal of DOMA and the enforcement of marriage equality on the federal level then the last hurdle would be past.

But now what about the title of this piece you ask? The one thing that all the civil rights fights had in common was that the people involved in the fight worked together. The women united, the blacks united, everyone worked together. Then you get to the GLBT fight for equality and it seems that the longer we fight the longer the acronym becomes for our identity. We started out as simply Gay then we went to Gay and Lesbian, then we got to Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgenders, but now we have GLBTQ the q being for queer or questioning. Just as our letters are to define us as cells within the grand rainbow that we are, they also serve to splinter us and cause us to all work in different directions.

Equality Fighters 1969 post Stonewall

While we all see lambda legal as the place to turn for legal opinion on on the struggle and HRC as the champion of champion groups to go to for the inside story, the actual people who are on the ground working their hearts out sacrificing their own time and in many times family lives for our rights are ignored. Every state has an equality group, (some more than one) every state has a pride (some more than one) and in many cases the equality groups do not work with the prides and the Pride groups will not work with other equality groups.

We as H&W recently came up against this very problem when trying to get the Marriage Equality Tour on the road. The tour was envisioned to bring the equality groups together as one group going cross country to show people that we not only deserve equality we demand it. When writing to or speaking with most of the local equality groups we have gotten a great warm reception where they are more than eager to help us get all this going. Pride groups have been a different story, and it seems as they are more about the party than the political struggle we are all fighting for. Have we forgotten that we cannot party until we have something to celebrate? Have we all forgotten what the Prides were started for? The gay Prides were started after Stonewall because of the need to show UNITY! Do we all know how to throw a party? of course we do! But we need to remember that there is still a battle to be won. We may be all battle weary but now is the time to UNITE and fight the oppression together. If we stay divided while the right wing is united against us then we are divided to a fall.

So when will we stop being the G & L & B & T & Q communities and go back to being the cohesive GLBT community to stand up and fight together and gain our equality through our strength in numbers?

Heck if 10% of the people in the United States are gay and lesbian and 10% are Trans and aprox 20% are Bisexual then we have 40% nearly a majority. Lets get together and work on something that matters for all of us!

Equality is written into the constitution, we all just need to remind people of that fact.

Time to work together toward a common goal and stop the Rainbow infighting!

Support the Marriage Equality Tour with your donation today! Every Dollar Helps toward our goal of uniting the fight. Go to Http://www.hersbandandwife.com click the thermometer and make your voice heard with your donation! Pass the link on to friends and encourage them to donate.

We deserve equality, we demand equality and H&W are putting their life on hold to gain it for everyone! Unity is the only way to get equality, Unite today with H&W.

United we stand, devided we fall! Equality deserves no less than UNITY!

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We hope you enjoy the points made just as much as we have.

H&W

The Marriage Equality Fight Lives on

Gay Marriage and the Constitution

Why Ted Olson and I are working to overturn California’s Proposition 8.

By DAVID BOIES

When I got married in California in 1959 there were almost 20 states where marriage was limited to two people of different sexes and the same race. Eight years later the Supreme Court unanimously declared state bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional.

Recently, Ted Olson and I brought a lawsuit asking the courts to now declare unconstitutional California’s Proposition 8 limitation of marriage to people of the opposite sex. We acted together because of our mutual commitment to the importance of this cause, and to emphasize that this is not a Republican or Democratic issue, not a liberal or conservative issue, but an issue of enforcing our Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and due process to all citizens.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the right to marry the person you love is so fundamental that states cannot abridge it. In 1978 the Court (8 to 1, Zablocki v. Redhail) overturned as unconstitutional a Wisconsin law preventing child-support scofflaws from getting married. The Court emphasized, “decisions of this Court confirm that the right to marry is of fundamental importance for all individuals.” In 1987 the Supreme Court unanimously struck down as unconstitutional a Missouri law preventing imprisoned felons from marrying.

There were legitimate state policies that supported the Wisconsin and Missouri restrictions held unconstitutional. By contrast, there is no legitimate state policy underlying Proposition 8. The occasional suggestion that marriages between people of different sexes may somehow be threatened by marriages of people of the same sex does not withstand discussion. It is difficult to the point of impossibility to envision two love-struck heterosexuals contemplating marriage to decide against it because gays and lesbians also have the right to marry; it is equally hard to envision a couple whose marriage is troubled basing the decision of whether to divorce on whether their gay neighbors are married or living in a domestic partnership. And even if depriving lesbians of the right to marry each other could force them into marrying someone they do not love but who happens to be of the opposite sex, it is impossible to see how that could be thought to be as likely to lead to a stable, loving relationship as a marriage to the person they do love.

Moreover, there is no longer any credible contention that depriving gays and lesbians of basic rights will cause them to change their sexual orientation. Even if there was, the attempt would be constitutionally defective. But, in fact, the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians is as much a God-given characteristic as the color of their skin or the sexual orientation of their straight brothers and sisters. It is also a condition that, like race, has historically been subject to abusive and often violent discrimination. It is precisely where a minority’s basic human rights are abridged that our Constitution’s promise of due process and equal protection is most vital.

Countries as Catholic as Spain, as different as Sweden and South Africa, and as near as Canada have embraced gay and lesbian marriage without any noticeable effect — except the increase in human happiness and social stability that comes from permitting people to marry for love. Several states — including Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont — have individually repealed their bans on same-sex marriage as inconsistent with a decent respect for human rights and a rational view of the communal value of marriage for all individuals. But basic constitutional rights cannot depend on the willingness of the electorate in any given state to end discrimination. If we were prepared to consign minority rights to a majority vote, there would be no need for a constitution.

The ban on same-sex marriages written into the California Constitution by a 52% vote in favor of Proposition 8 is the residue of centuries of figurative and literal gay-bashing. California allows same-sex domestic partnerships that, as interpreted by the California Supreme Court, provide virtually all of the economic rights of marriage. So the ban on permitting gay and lesbian couples to actually marry is simply an attempt by the state to stigmatize a segment of its population that commits no offense other than falling in love with a disapproved partner, and asks no more of the state than to be treated equally with all other citizens. In 2003 the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas held that states could not constitutionally outlaw consensual homosexual activity. As Justice Anthony Kennedy elegantly wrote rejecting the notion that a history of discrimination might trump constitutional rights, “Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.”

There are those who sincerely believe that homosexuality is inconsistent with their religion — and the First Amendment guarantees their freedom of belief. However, the same First Amendment, as well as the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses, preclude the enshrinement of their religious-based disapproval in state law.

Gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters, our teachers and doctors, our friends and neighbors, our parents and children. It is time, indeed past time, that we accord them the basic human right to marry the person they love. It is time, indeed past time, that our Constitution fulfill its promise of equal protection and due process for all citizens by now eliminating the last remnant of centuries of misguided state discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The argument in favor of Proposition 8 ultimately comes down to no more than the tautological assertion that a marriage is between a man and a woman. But a slogan is not a substitute for constitutional analysis. Law is about justice, not bumper stickers.

Mr. Boies is the chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP.

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We are working to get the Marriage Equality tour on the road so that not only will California people understand what Mr Boies is saying but also the rest of the country will as well.

If you believe in having Equality nation wide please visit http://www.hersbandandwife.com read about the goals of the tour, check out the dates on the interactive map and donate to help this grass roots effort gain ground. Every dollar we gain is one more mile we can drive for equality!

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In case you missed all the discussions last night about the push to take the prop 8 fight to the national stage we decided to re-post them today for all to see.

The statements by the attorneys that are taking this to the supreme court are great and will help you understand their arguments.

Larry King hosts Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, George Takei and Husband Brad Altman to discuss the ramifications and legalities of the recent decision by the California’s Supreme court on Prop 8 as well as the push to take the fight to the United States Supreme Court.

We are very encouraged after listening to their arguments. We are only hopeful that the GLBT groups that have spoken against them will decide to work with them on a unified front.

A statement released by the group Freedom to Marry states the following ;

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 27, 2009, New York, NY

PRESS CONTACT:
Evan Wolfson
Executive Director, Freedom to Marry
Tel: 212-851-8418; Mobile: 646-263-5552
Email: evan@freedomtomarry.org

New York, May 27, 2009 — In response to the California Supreme Court decision allowing Prop 8 to stand, four LGBT legal organizations and five other leading national LGBT groups are reminding the LGBT community that ill-timed lawsuits could set the fight for marriage back. The groups released a new publication, “Why the ballot box and not the courts should be the next step on marriage in California.” This publication discourages people from bringing premature lawsuits based on the federal Constitution because, without more groundwork, the U.S. Supreme Court likely is not yet ready to rule that same-sex couples cannot be barred from marriage. The groups also revised “Make Change, Not Lawsuits,” which was released after the California Supreme Court decision ending the ban on marriage for same-sex couples in California. This publication encourages couples who have legally married to ask friends, neighbors and institutions to honor their marriages, but discourages people from bringing lawsuits.

The groups working together withe this statement are;

Groups against the federal lawsuit for marriage equality.

Our question to these groups is what if these two lawyers win?

Do you all think you will loose your GLBT community support because you all came out against what appears to many of us as progress? Wouldn’t it be easier to work with the lawyers to help them in their fight rather than against them?

Sometimes the perfect case never comes and you have to just step out on a limb and try to go “all in” and pray that the legal argument is sound and will stand.

With what is being said and done with these groups right now is making it appear that exactly what the prop 8 supporters wanted has happened. We have gone in one 24 hour period from being completely unified on this issue to a smattering of different opinions. These groups were all formed to unify our community but in fact what they are doing now is dividing us.

Yes on this issue we are standing on the opposite side of these groups, We have always stood with them on issues but in true H&W style we are not followers but we are learned writers who delve deep into an issue and form our own opinion. We may anger some by coming out against such high regarded GLBT rights organizations but we believe that they are playing it safe and the die has already been cast with the filing of this lawsuit so why come out against something that was filed on May 22, 2009 prior to that of the prop 8 decision being made public? Why not unify with the lawyers and help them get this issue not only heard but a favorable decision.

This is too important an issue to be divided on!

Our community has waited too long (since 1974) to be heard on this issue on the federal level, so we say You Go Boys and take it to the feds. The justices may not be ready but our President, Congress and House are. So we may just have enough pressure on the justices on this issue for them to not only hear this case but rule in true rainbow favorability.

It is about time someone had the guts and the knowledge to be able to push this issue.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (all you groups against them) UNIFY WITH THESE LAWYERS!!

*This may be political suiside for us but this is what everyone loves about us we dont follow we lead, and we are real not a watered down version of something else. So no appologies, only real opinion’s from a couple with a civil union who are tired of being treated like seccond class citizens.

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California’s Prop 8 Fight

We know for many that the Prop 8 decision in California is a very hurtful blow to their core, but we are of the mind that this ruling because of the prop 8 sensationalism going through the media, that it will push our country toward equality rather than away from it.  Since the ruling there has already been action to take the decision to the supreme court of  the United States the highest court in our land.  Wouldnt it be a great day if the backlash from the the vote and subsequent rulling bring about equality across the United States?

According to the AP there has been a lawsuit brought by two prominent lawyers to the Supreme Court of the United States.

By LISA LEFF

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)

A day after the California Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and other national organizations issued a statement saying they think the U.S. Supreme Court is not ready to rule in their favor on the issue.

“In our view, the best way to win marriage equality nationally is to continue working state by state, not to bring premature federal challenges that pose a very high risk of setting a negative U.S. Supreme Court precedent,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of National Center for Lesbian Rights.

On Tuesday, lawyers Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, who represented opposing sides in the 2000 Bush v. Gore election challenge, announced they had filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of two gay men and two gay women.

Their case argues that California’s voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and due process.

Olson said he hopes the suit, which seeks a preliminary injunction against the California measure until the case is resolved, will wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A favorable ruling there would allow gays and lesbians to get married in every state, just as the court’s 1967 ruling in a Virginia case outlawed prohibitions on interracial marriage.

We are unsure if we should be hopeful or worried.

Nevada and Domestic Partnership

In another equality state battle; Nevada’s Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed a bill that would have given many of the rights of married couples to domestic partners weather gay or straight. In a statement, Gibbons was quoted as saying about Senate Bill 283

“I believe that the voters have determined that the rights of marriage should apply only to married couples, only the voters should determine whether those rights equally apply to domestic partners,”

This is yet another instance of the majority ruling on the rights of minority.

Pennsylvania and Marriage

Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware/Montgomery, announced Wednesday that he plans to introduce a bill that would offer full and equal marriage rights to same-sex couples in the state.

Under this new legislation, Pennsylvania would also recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.

This bill would allow religious institutions (I.E. Churches) to opt out and not recognize the unions.

Earlier this month, Republican state Sen. John Eichelberger filed a bill to amend the state constitution to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Lets see who wins out in this state. It may not matter if the lawsuit resulting from Prop 8 is successful.

New Hampshire and Marriage

On the Marriage legislation front that is sweeping the New England states New Hampshire’s Gov. John Lynch recently received a bill that would have made New Hampshire the 6th state in the United States to institute marriage equality for GLBT people. After the measure passed the state’s House of Representatives and the state Senate Gov Lynch sent it back with his own addendum’s that would have protected churches from litigation for refusing marriages. In a Statement released on the state website the Gov is quoted as saying;

“Two years ago, we passed civil unions legislation here in New Hampshire. That law gave same-sex couples in civil unions the same rights and protections as marriage. And in typical New Hampshire fashion, the people of this state embraced civil unions and agreed we needed to continue our tradition of opposing discrimination.

“At its core, HB 436 simply changes the term ‘civil union’ to ‘civil marriage.’ Given the cultural, historical and religious significance of the word marriage, this is a meaningful change.”

“I have heard, and I understand, the very real feelings of same-sex couples that a separate system is not an equal system. That a civil law that differentiates between their committed relationships and those of heterosexual couples undermines both their dignity and the legitimacy of their families.”

“I have also heard, and I understand, the concerns of our citizens who have equally deep feelings and genuine religious beliefs about marriage. They fear that this legislation would interfere with the ability of religious groups to freely practice their faiths.”

We are of the belief that on this issue the gov is right! Yes that is right we said he is right, but hear us out; The Gov is not about squashing our rights to be married like everyone else, he was only coming up with a compromise to give us the rights and responsibilities but to let the churches know that it is OK that they refuse a couple. Lets face it refusal of marriage within a church happens every day.

Catholics have priests who will refuse a wedding because one or the other of the couples in question is either not a Catholic or a non practicing member in good standing of the Catholic faith, or they had been married and divorced. Many Baptist churches will refuse a wedding because they feel the couple is not ready after marriage counseling, or they feel the couple should not marry because of past issues such as this being a second marriage. We wont even address all the other faiths that refuse weddings for whatever reason, but out of all of these refusals none of the couples feel they have a right to sue. Why you may ask? Because it is historically the churches right to refuse to marry someone, so if we want equal treatment why wouldn’t we be lumped in with all the adulterers, divorcee’s, and whomever else gets refused?

Besides do you really want to be married by a person who hates your very existence? Come on people some common sense here! There are plenty of MCC churches or UU churches that will marry us at the drop of a hat, so why do we need to be married in a church that refuses?

American Idol, Kris WINS Adam’s SCAMMED!

Now on to a sort of lighter subject, American Idol and the controversy that has ensued between Adam Lambert’s loss and Kris Allan’s win. From what we are reading everywhere one of the corporate sponsors of American Idol had been in AR for the finals viewing party for Kris Allan and given out a number of cell phones and taught the crowd how to power text to vote for Kris Allan, something against the rules of the competition.  There was no free text service or cell phones offered to Adam Lambert fans at his viewing party making this even more suspect. A spokesperson from ATT was quoted as saying;

“In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organized by the community. A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.”

Hmmm Still sounds fishy to us but then the American Idol people haven’t spoken yet so who knows what the outcome of this one will be. But do we really believe that American Idol would have an out gay man as their winner? Do we remember Clay Aiken? Oh or what about So you think you can dance and their comments. That is the way people think in the majority so why wouldn’t the media play off of it?

swap claim code

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Thank you Mrs Clinton for standing up for GLBT people.

According to an Associated Press report from Saturday, May 23rd It seems that the ideals of  “old Washington” is turning,   realizing here in the United States Government that other countries are being more progressive than the USA is. For the first time in many years other countries are more progressive. Other countries are ahead of the curve on key issues and it could very well hurt the United States diplomacy if they are rude in any way to Foreign GLBT citizens and diplomats. Too bad they don’t realize that for United States citizens yet.

For the full article from the AP please read below.

Thank you Mrs Clinton for standing up for GLBT people as usual. Now can you put a bug in Pres Obama’s ear about DOMA and DADT repeals?

MATTHEW LEE Associated Press Writer

5:38 PM MDT, May 23, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that gay American diplomats will be given benefits similar to those that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, U.S. officials said Saturday.

In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are “unfair and must end,” as they harm U.S. diplomacy.

“Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad,” she says in the message, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

“It will also help the department attract and retain personnel in a competitive environment where domestic partner benefits and allowances are increasingly the norm for world-class employers,” she says.

“At bottom, the department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex domestic partners because it is the right thing to do,” Clinton says.

Among the benefits that will now be granted gay diplomats: the right of domestic partners to hold diplomatic passports, government-paid travel for their partners and families to and from foreign posts, and the use of U.S. medical facilities abroad.

In addition, gay diplomats’ families will now be eligible for U.S. government emergency evacuations and training courses at the Foreign Service Institute, the message says.

The announcement, expected this week, was provided to the AP by a State Department official who is a member of the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies organization. Two department officials not affiliated with the organization confirmed its accuracy.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the changes.

Previously, the State Department had withheld some benefits from the families of gay diplomats, citing the Defense of Marriage Law, which had restricted federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

One former ambassador, Michael Guest, resigned from the foreign service in 2007 to protest the restrictions. Guest was a part of the Obama administration’s State Department transition team and played a major role in lobbying for the changes.

Clinton told members of Congress last week that she would soon announce the revisions.

(This version CORRECTS typo in 9th graf.)

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California Decision Day- Tuesday, May 26th Meet in the Middle- Saturday, May 30th

Calling all COLAGErs! This morning it was announced that theCalifornia Supreme Court will be announcing it’s decision on whether or not to repeal Prop 8 this Tuesday, May 26th! Join COLAGE in responding to the outcome and using the court decision to continue our efforts to raise visibility and awareness of COLAGErs and their families at Decision Day events and Meet in the Middle. Decision Day Events 2009 We are calling on all of our COLAGErs and their families to either join in celebration or to join in protest– In San Francisco, we are excited to announce that 17 year old Shira Kogan will be speaking on behalf of COLAGE at the Decision Day event following the announcement of the Supreme Courts ruling at SF City Hall. Families and children are invited to be on the stage towards the end of the rally to participate in a flower petal drop and bouquet toss.Afterwards there will be a march to Yerba Buena Gardens where people will be congregating at the MLK memorial for a community gathering and COLAGE has been invited to lead the March! Rally San Francisco City Hall When: Tuesday, May 26th, 5-6 pm; Look for the COLAGE Banner to join with other youth and adults with LGBTQ parents and our families for the rally and to lead the march. March to the MLK Memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens When: 6-6:45 pm To join up with COLAGE, get in touch with Paulie Milagros Schreck or call 415-861-5437. Statewide Events Similar events will be happening at 5 pm around the State so go and represent COLAGE. Wear your COLAGE shirt or a make a sign that talks about your family to raise visibility of children, youth and adults with LGBTQ parents. Take a photo and send it to COLAGE! For a list of Decision Day events happening around the state of California, click here. Meet in the Middle Join COLAGE, coalition members and our allies for a state-wide rally right smack in the middle of California and COLAGE will be based right in front of Fresno City Hall! Come to Fresno on Saturday, May 30th for a day of community and visibility. There are buses coming from across California so its free and easy to attend. Why Fresno? The battle for equality has to be fought in towns like Fresno, CA – not only in gay-friendly cities. California’s Central Valley population is reflective of national attitudes towards LGBT Equality and raising awareness about the impact of marriage inequality must be a state-wide effort. COLAGE is joining others to make sure the event will be youth and family friendly and is proud to announce that COLAGE Speak OUT member Morgan Early will be speaking on behalf of people with LGBTQ parents from the main stage. Look for COLAGE at the family area complete with a letter writing action area and a bounce house. For information, costs, and registration, visit www.meetinthemiddle4equality.com. When: Saturday, May 30th,  1-4 pm Where: Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno, CA The Friday before Meet in the Middle, COLAGE will be part of a press conference event in Fresno at 4:30pm at the Hugh Burns State Building, 2550 Mariposa Mall. For more information about joining up with COLAGE at Meet in the Middle, contact Paulie. ”

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