The Foreign Service Journal, June 2004

sions spell out that overseas posts “may not request privileges, immunities or exemptions for MOHs” and must make clear to the host government that the MOH is not regarded as a mem- ber of the employee’s family for official purposes. The Gay Vanguard AFSA President Louise Crane recalls that, “in the 1970s, if you were gay you couldn’t get a secu- rity clearance” in the Foreign Service, which effectively meant that you couldn’t serve as a professional. In some instances, closeted gays who wanted to bring their partners with them overseas had to allege that their significant others were, in fact, personal servants — a demeaning cha- rade. That stance began to change in the 1980s, as soci- etal attitudes toward gays and lesbians became more tolerant. Patrick Linehan, an FSO formerly with USIA, recalls being told by a briefer from Diplomatic Security in 1984, “We used to spend 90 percent of our time fag-chasing, but we stopped that. You can be queer in the State Department; we just don’t want to hear about it.” When President Bill Clinton took office in 1993, Foreign Service practice became more liberal, thanks in part to advocacy by Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, which had formed the previous year. In 1998, the State Department officially added sexual orientation to the list of categories (like sex and race) for which employment discrimination is forbidden. That was a big step for gay Foreign Service employ- ees, but it still left their significant others with no rec- ognized status when the employees were posted abroad. When GLIFAA began talking with AFSA and State management about additional measures, State thought about it long and hard, recalls John Naland, who was AFSA State vice president at the time and then AFSA president from 2001 to 2003. “There was a clear fear,” Naland says, “that this would not be well received in some parts of the U.S. Congress. And Congress can put a stop to most anything.” AFSA had never taken a stand on the issue, but decided to can- vass its membership in 2000. Naland says the organization got its “greatest response to a poll ever.” With about 500 members answering, 85 percent said they supported limited accommoda- tions for domestic partners at post, with 15 percent opposed. “That poll made it much easier for AFSA to go forward” and support the policy change, says Naland. The State Department guidance cable was issued the day after Christmas in 2000, with no fanfare. “Secretary Albright was prudent, waiting until that time and doing it as quietly as she could,” Naland tells the Journal . “If it had been trumpeted, some people might feel ‘we have to knock this thing down.’ But, in fact, I don’t know of any fallout” from the policy change. Advocates were of course nervous about whether the policy would be rolled back under the Bush administration, which took office the next month. But Secretary of State Colin Powell quietly accepted the MOH policy. The addition of MOH provisions to the FAM in 2003 made it official. One key point to bear in mind: It’s been essential to the acceptance of MOH policy that — while its ear- liest and strongest advocate was GLIFAA — it applies equally to heterosexual couples and other family members. So it is widely seen as a necessary adjust- ment to the changing norms of family life, not an accommodation for gays. FSI: The Half-Open Door For many MOHs, the first taste of Foreign Service life is the Foreign Service Institute. But while their partners are immersed in the A-100 Class and follow- on professional and language training, MOHs are left with little to do. Eligible Family Members are encouraged to take formal classes — for example in languages — when space is available, but Members of Household may not take any formal classes for which people register. For these partners and relatives, FSI is like the M E M B E R S O F H O U S E H O L D 18 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 4 For MOHs, FSI is like the Foreign Service in microcosm: a place where one is nominally welcome, but where the good stuff is unavailable.