This post originally appeared at the Health Insurance Resource Center.

Consumers are now able to search for insurance plans offering domestic partner coverage on HealthCare.gov, the one-stop shop maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services for all things related to health care reform.

The web site, which was one of the consumer-friendly reforms required by the Affordable Care Act, includes a Health Plan Finder tool that allows consumers shopping for coverage to compare plan details such as cost sharing, enrollment, and benefit design in order to choose the option that best meets their needs. The new filter helps same-sex couples, many of whom do not have access to health insurance through their own or their partner’s employer, find plans in the non-group market that offer coverage for domestic partners.

Small businesses can also use the filter to search for coverage for their employees. According to a recent study, 51 percent of small businesses currently offer equal benefits to employees with same-sex partners or spouses, and 50 percent of those who do not say they would like to offer such benefits in the future. HealthCare.gov now links these employers with an easily searchable menu of options for providing the families of their gay employees with affordable coverage.

More employers should take note. The majority of Americans with private insurance receive coverage through their own or their spouse’s employer. Companies that do not extend benefits to the families of employees with same-sex spouses or partners are increasingly uncompetitive against companies with broad diversity policies and inclusive benefits packages. Fundamentally, policies that promote a diverse workforce are good for the bottom line: they maximize the talent in the hiring pool and help retain happier, healthier, and more productive employees. Read more

Gov. Chris Gregoire (D-WA) was visibly emotional as she signed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington, making the Evergreen State the seventh in the nation to offer marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Suporters cheered “thank you, thank you” as Sen. Ed Murray (D) — a sponsor of the measure — introduced Gregoire and cheered “four more years!”

Gregoire shared some of the positive reaction to the passage of the measure and described the occasion as a “very proud moment” in her career:

GREGOIRE: We’re here today to make history in this great state… As governor now for over seven years, this is a very proud moment. Most surely, it is a proud day in the history of the legislature…it is a day as historians will mark as am milestone for equal rights in this state. …We stood for equality and we did it together. I’m proud of who and what we are as a state. I’m proud that our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate, but equal. They will be equal in the great state of Washington. I’m proud that the children in our schools and neighborhoods will no longer have to wonder why their loving parents are considered somewhat different than other loving parents.

As she signed the bill, at least one opponent of marriage equality yelled out, “do not betray Christ!, do not betray Christ!” The crowd’s cheers drowned him out and Gregoire pronounced, “it’s signed!” Watch a compilation:

The law will not take effect before June 7, three months after the conclusion of the legislative session. However, if opponents succeed in putting a question of marriage on the November ballot defining marriage as a union between one mand and one woman, the law would be suspended until the certification of election returns in December. Gregoire predicted that the people of the state of Washington “will say yes to marriage equality in the state of Washington” if the law is reviewed in a referendum.

The Obama administration’s 2013 budget promises to “build a fair and stable economy for the LGBT community, while continuing to defend their rights.” Below are seven investments for reducing anti-gay bullying, hate crimes, and HIV/AIDS infections:

– 4 percent increase to strengthen anti-discrimination enforcement: The Budget also proposes an increase for the Community Relations Service in the Department of Justice to fight hate crimes and provides a $14 million, or 4 percent, increase over the 2012 enacted level for the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing Federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee.

– Funding boost to combat hate crimes: In addition to the protections on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Budget also proposes an increase for the Community Relations Service to fight hate crime.

– $86 million to combat bullying: The Budget provides $86 million for grants to States and local educational agencies under the Department of Education’s Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students program to fund activities aimed at preventing and reducing substance use, violence, harassment or bullying, and promoting student mental, physical, and emotional health.

– Increases funding for HIV/AIDS research and prevention to $28.5 billion: The Budget prioritizes HIV/AIDS resources within high-burden communities and among high-risk groups, including gay and bisexual men, Black Americans, Latino Americans and substance users. Compared to 2012, the Budget increases domestic discretionary HIV/AIDS funding at HHS by $119 million and Veterans Affairs (VA) HIV/AIDS funding by $74 million. Overall, total U.S. Government-wide spending on HIV/AIDS increases from $27.7 billion in 2012 to approximately $28.5 billion in 2013.

– Expands the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program by $75 million: The Budget includes an increase of $75 million for care and treatment through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. The Budget includes $1 billion for AIDS drug assistance programs, an increase of $67 million above 2012 levels to expand access to life saving HIV-related medications for uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV/AIDS. Based on current projections, this increase in funding for ADAP, combined with sufficient state contributions, will eliminate ADAP waiting lists in 2013.

– $330 million for housing assistance for people with HIV/AIDS: The President’s Budget requests $330 million for HUD’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, to address housing needs among people living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

– Support global AIDS prevention and treatment: The Budget fully funds the balance of the Administration’s historic three-year, $4 billion pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, in recognition of this multilateral partner’s key role in global health and its progress in instituting reform.

While it is no surprise that this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference was rife with anti-gay rhetoric, what was even more troubling was the framing of that rhetoric. For conservatives, social issues like marriage and discrimination are mere concepts, and throughout the conference they demonstrated their ability to discuss them as if LGBT people do not even exist.

Last week’s ruling by the Ninth Circuit that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional was a frequent subject throughout the weekend, but not with any concern for the couples seeking to marry. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) teamed up with retired game show host Chuck Woolery to dismiss the decision, promoting the idea that the people’s vote is all that matters and “Majority rules.” Woolery even went as far as to reject all civil rights, claiming he’s discriminated against because he’s old and “a one percenter.” National Organization for Marriage Chairman John Eastman also claimed the Prop 8 ruling will have “catastrophic consequences for civil society.”

Others at the conference expressed that bullying and violence against LGBT people should persist. The President of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) attacked the United Nations for urging countries to protect LGBT people from persecution and execution, suggesting that “their theory of international law is done by lying, coercion, and trickery.” Focus on the Family’s Candi Cusman, meanwhile, continued her crusade against anti-bullying efforts, suggesting that “sexual advocacy” groups were hijacking the safe school message to indoctrinate young people. At no point did they express concern for the actual victims of harassment or acknowledge that the harassment was even taking place. Tea Party activist Kevin Jackson didn’t hesitate to further demonize LGBT people by claiming the Left has ”changed the definition of pedophilia.”

All of this rhetoric fed into the weekend’s  condemnation of America’s diversity. For example, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and a panel of white nationalists discussed how “the pursuit of diversity is weakening the American identity.” It’s no wonder conservatives are so unsympathetic to the plight of LGBT people — they refuse to admit we even exist.