Ambassador James Brewster
Anti-gay forces are circulating a White House petition to have President Barack Obama recall James Brewster as ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Their only objection to Brewster is that he is gay.
A petition has to get at least 100,000 signatures to get a response from the White House, and the anti-Brewster petition already has about 25,000.
But there’s a pro-Brewster petition that’s been started that only has 2,300 signatures as of this writing. Click here to sign the petition supporting Brewster. You must confirm your signature on the petition by clicking a link in a confirmation email.
Since coming into office, Obama has named a number of gay diplomats. The year the president appointed Brewster, State Department officials assigned four other gay diplomats to posts abroad, but they all went to gay-friendly countries in northern Europe.
The year Obama took office — 2009 — his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, changed the rules for gay and lesbian diplomats assigned overseas. Previously, a same-sex partner could live at the embassy with his or her spouse. However, things like moving expenses were not covered for the spouse. The cost of moving furniture, for example, was split in half if they were moving as a couple. The diplomat’s dog was covered. But the diplomat’s spouse was not.
Since 2008, spouses have been treated equally, whether they are same sex or opposite sex.
