Obama criticized for expanding gay federal benefits

WASHINGTON — President Obama signed an executive order June 17 expanding benefits available to same-sex partners of federal employees, a move that was not unexpected but nonetheless criticized by social conservative groups. The measure does not offer same-sex couples the same health or retirement benefits as married heterosexual couples, and so falls short of the mark that gay activists seek. However, Obama promised future steps toward gay rights, including ending the ban on gays in the military.

Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, issued a statement before the order was signed, saying the memorandum “clearly violates the spirit of the federal law which defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife.” That federal law, known as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed in 1996. Obama noted that because DOMA defines marriage between a man and a woman, the White House cannot yet enact the full range of benefits for same-sex couples that heterosexual, married couples receive. (TAB)