On Monday, the State Department began requiring all employees to be married in order to receive family benefits and, for overseas staff, diplomatic passports and immunity.
This is a rollback from a policy that permitted full benefits for domestic partners. The next day, State Department officials announced that G-category visas — used for diplomats and employees of international organizations operating in the United States, such as the United Nations — will not be issued to same-sex partners of those employees.
Amid the media coverage of the attack on LGBTQ rights not only in the United States but now on any non-American wishing to work here is plenty of outrage from advocates blasting the overt discrimination — but not a whole lot of explanation.
State Department officials briefed journalists on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. These officials were unveiling a major new policy — so why exactly, do they have to be anonymous? And, more importantly, why did the press go along with it? Why does the State Department get to dictate to journalists the terms of the rollout of a bigoted, and quite possibly illegal, policy?
Simply put, because of a lack of resistance.
That briefing appears to have been rather short on information, because nowhere in the coverage is a coherent explanation of why these policies are now in place.
The stenographers present at the briefing dutifully took the scraps they were given, and filled in the gaps with articulate opponents who rightfully noted how ignorant and dangerous these policies are, particularly for couples from countries where homosexuality is a crime. This is not journalism.
The media must understand that its role is serving and informing the public, not maintaining friendly relations with insiders. It would have made a more powerful statement to refuse to cover the event and to report why — because the policy is yet another step in delegitimizing LGBTQ relationships. And if you can’t own it publicly, then that is a big part of the story.