By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer In an effort to appease homosexuals and others on the far left regions of his base, President Obama signed a presidential referendum late yesterday that extends a limited number of benefits to same-sex couples on the Federal payroll. However, gay activists are less than impressed by the move. The new law gives same-sex domestic partners of federal employees access to long-term-care insurance benefits and allows civil servants to use sick leave to care for ailing domestic partners and children not related by blood or adoption. It also extends limited benefits to the same-sex partners of Foreign Service officers, including giving them access to medical facilities at postings abroad and medical evacuations.   However, gay activists want full health benefits, something that cannot be extended because the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Obama vowed to repeal during his campaign, prohibits the federal government from extending these benefits to same-sex couples. A bill that would extend full health benefits to same-sex partners, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, is now pending in the House and Senate. Obama expressed his support for the bill yesterday. The latest move has done little to appease same-sex supporters who say the President is not living up to his campaign promises of repealing DOMA and reversing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell,” policy. "Are they kidding us? Domestic Partnership benefits WITHOUT health insurance because of DOMA? What kind of reality do they live in?" said gay fundraiser and activist David Mixner in an e-mail to Politico.com. “It is like rubbing salt in the wound. I am glad that some barriers will be lifted for Federal Employees but what is the most important benefit needed....health insurance! Good god." Leslie Gabel-Brett, the director of education and public affairs for the advocacy group Lambda Legal, told The Washington Post that Obama "as a candidate was very clear on a number of things" and "inspired an enormous amount of hope in our country and in the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] community." However, she added: "We are very frustrated, and we'd like the president to move faster to protect our community and work for equality.I still think he can be a leader for our community. But we need to see these steps start happening." Activists were already upset over a brief filed last week by the president’s lawyers that defended DOMA, causing some donors to cancel plans to attend a Democratic National Committee fundraiser next week in Washington. However, supporters of traditional marriage see things differently. "President Obama's expected Executive Order extending benefits to homosexual partners appears to be a violation of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and 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,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC). "President Obama's planned Executive Order uses taxpayer money to placate an angry portion of his base at the expense of the rule of law. Ironically, Mr. Obama has pursued an aggressive pro-homosexual agenda - but his actions to date are, apparently, insufficient for the radical homosexuals pushing their extreme demands.” Attorneys at the FRC are already reviewing the president’s new order to determine if it is legal. “President Obama is clearly using this executive order to single out a single group for special preferences,” Perkins said. He added: "However, beyond the potential legal violations, it's troubling that the President would act in response to homosexual groups which are threatening to withdraw from an upcoming fundraiser. Rather than placing politics above the law, he should abide by the Defense of Marriage Act and fulfill his oath to 'faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.'" © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com