CNN Link WASHINGTON (CNN) –– President Obama will sign a memorandum
Wednesday granting health care and other benefits to the same-sex
partners of federal employees, two senior administration officials said.
President Obama has been criticized by gay rights activists for not doing more since taking office.
The signing will take place in the Oval Office and follows sharp
criticism of the president over a Justice Department motion filed last
week in support of the Defense of Marriage Act –– which opposes
same-sex marriage –– that used the government's interest in opposing
incestuous marriages to support its position against same-sex marriage.
Gay and lesbian advocates have also faulted the Obama administration
for not moving to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy
that bars officials from asking about a service member's sexual
orientation but also bars the service member from revealing it.
The president rankled gay advocates before his inauguration when he
named megachurch pastor the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation
at his swearing-in. Warren, in an interview with Belief.net, likened
homosexuality to bestiality and incest. He also supported California's
Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in that state.
During the Warren controversy, Obama –– who frequently spoke in favor
of gay and lesbian rights during the campaign but has said he opposes
same-sex marriage –– declared himself "a fierce advocate for gay and
lesbian Americans."