Washington D.C., May 20, 2009 / 22:57 pm
On Wednesday the House Foreign Affairs Committee marked up the State Department Reauthorization bill, which contained several provisions advancing abortion and homosexual political priorities. After receiving assurances from the Obama Administration that it would change the current policies, Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) removed his provision granting domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples.
The State Dept. Reauthorization bill, H.R. 2410, would have established same-sex domestic partnership benefits, funded by taxpayers, for Foreign Service Officers and Peace Corps volunteers.
The bill would have mandated that the Secretary of State work through government employees at U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to encourage foreign governments to reform or repeal laws that criminalize “homosexuality or consensual homosexual conduct” or restrict “the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms, consistent with U.S. law, by homosexual individuals or organizations.”
H.R. 2410 would also have required the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to track violence or restrictions based on “perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.” According to Smith, the terms are undefined in the bill. The American Psychological Association has broadly defined the terms to include exhibitionism, prostitution and pedophilia.
Additionally, the bill would have required the annual human rights report to include information about violence or discrimination based on “perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”