<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14pt;color:#000000;"><DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-no-proof: yes"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-no-proof: yes"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #aaaaaa 1pt solid; mso-element: para-border-div; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #AAAAAA .75pt">
<P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BACKGROUND: white; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 7.5pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #AAAAAA .75pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in"><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16.5pt; COLOR: #555555; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Obama extends benefits, promises more for gays<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: #666666; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:10pm EDT<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">By <A href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=Andy.Sullivan"><SPAN style="COLOR: #005a84; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; text-underline: none">Andy Sullivan</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday extended limited job benefits to gay partners of U.S. government workers in what he called a first step to end discrimination against gays and lesbians.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Under pressure from gay rights groups, Obama urged Congress to pass legislation that would extend full healthcare and retirement benefits to gay families in the 1.9 million-strong federal workforce, as many U.S. businesses already do.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">"Many of our government's hardworking and dedicated and patriotic public servants have long been denied basic rights that their colleagues enjoyed for one simple reason: the people that they love are of the same sex," Obama said before signing an order to extend benefits for federal workers' gay partners.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">"It's a day that marks a historic step toward the changes we seek, but I think we all have to acknowledge this is only one step."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Obama's announcement showed that his administration may focus more on incremental, tangible gains for gays and lesbians, rather than wading directly into the divisive gay marriage debate that has played out at the state level.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Gay rights groups called Wednesday's move a welcome first step and said they understood that the president had been busy trying to shore up the economy and lay the groundwork for landmark healthcare and climate-change legislation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">But they said they would continue to press the administration to outlaw workplace discrimination and extend benefits for same-sex couples.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">"Those things should happen today, should have happened yesterday and they haven't and until they do there's going to be a frustration," said Joe Solomonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Obama did not back gay marriage during the 2008 campaign, but he did promise to repeal a 1996 law that prevents the government from recognizing same-sex marriages.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The administration will work with Congress to repeal that law, the Defense of Marriage Act, and extend workplace-discrimination laws to cover gays, said John Berry, head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The administration will also try to overturn the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that allows the U.S. military to expel troops that are openly gay, Berry said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">DIVISIVE DEBATE<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The outlook in Congress is unclear as a divisive debate over gay rights could interfere with Democrats' goals to pass landmark legislation covering climate change, healthcare and financial regulation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Lawmakers are still weighing whether to try to repeal the entire Defense of Marriage Act or simply target sections that prevent the government from offering healthcare and retirement benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">"Our goal is to come up with a strategy that is more effective to restoring equal rights to gay Americans," said Ilan Kayatsky, a spokesman for New York Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The House of Representatives in April approved an expansion of federal "hate crime" laws to cover gays and lesbians, but the measure has not yet passed the Senate.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">At the state level, six states currently recognize gay marriage or plan to by next year, while six others and the District of Columbia provide some level of spousal rights for same-sex couples, according to the Human Rights Campaign.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Some 29 states have changed their state constitutions to ban gay marriage.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The memo that Obama signed on Wednesday will:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">* Open up the government's long-term care insurance to gay partners of federal employees;<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">* Allow federal employees to use their sick leave to care for a gay partner or the partner's children;<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">* Allow gay partners of foreign-service employees to use medical facilities at overseas posts and get evacuated if necessary;<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">* Include same-sex partners and their children when calculating family size for overseas housing allocations;<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">* Extend current anti-discrimination rules in the federal workforce to cover transgender employees.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Mohammad Zargham)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7.5pt; COLOR: #666666; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 7pt; COLOR: #666666; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%;
FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.</SPAN><BR> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000bf><EM><FONT face="comic sans ms">
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000bf>Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul longs for you, O God.</FONT></EM></DIV></FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000bf><EM><FONT face="comic sans ms">Ps 42:1</FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000bf size=1></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000bf size=1></FONT></EM> </DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV></div><br>
</body></html>