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  Many may celebrate, embrace, and laud “interim measures” that are provided by the Obama Administration such as the domestic partner benefits for federal employees, hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners, and family leave for our partner’s children. Although it is true that all of the new policies provide new rights to the LGBT community, they are not providing us truly equal treatment of our marriages, just a separate set of laws and policies needed to address fundamental inequalities for second-class citizens. We are starting down a path of creating an entirely new subset of laws and policies to address at the Federal level the inequality and discrimination we experience as families (hospital visitation, FLMA, etc.). Separate is never equal. Such progress is a path that I feel uncomfortable going too-far down, without always coming back to the main legislative barriers to our legal equality such as DOMA, anti-LGBT state laws, and the absence of a comprehensive federal non-discrimination law addressing sexual orientation and gender identity. With regards to the recent FLMA announcement, because of DOMA, we still do not have the Federal right to take off work to care for our same-sex partner. Although many corporations and states allow such leave. In addition, we are assuming that all LGBT families feel comfortable accessing such work-around FMLA benefits, when we know many fear the risk of being fired based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity. ENDA is needed to allow fuller access to such benefits. Repeal of DOMA is the mother-lode that brings over 1100 federal rights and responsibilities. It should not be downplayed by advocates as we are given sentimental and significant, yet far from comprehensive, expansion of our Constitutional rights from this Administration, or any other for that matter.
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