Congratulations to Iowa and Vermont for legalizing same-sex marriage and to Washington D.C. for deciding to legally recognize the same-sex marriages performed in other states.
A clever friend of mine said of these recent victories, “its like a groundswell.” I looked up “groundswell” in the dictionary and this is what it says:
- a broad, deep swell or rolling of the sea, due to a distant storm or gale.
That is very cool.
This post contains an ACTION ALERT – Support the Uniting American Families Act!
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America’s current immigration laws are tearing apart families all across the country, and Queer couples are no exception. Due to immigration laws that discriminate against same-sex couples, Shirley Tan, mother of two and life partner of Jay Mercado, is threatened with deportation to the Philippines.
Thankfully Shirley’s deportation has been delayed, but her family’s security and well-being, in addition to thousands of other families, will continue to be threatened as long as these discriminatory immigration policies remain in place.
The Uniting American Families Act would allow a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their same-sex partner for immigration to the U.S., a right that is currently only available to heterosexual married couples.
Please take action by urging Congress to support the UAFA, writing a letter to the editor of your local paper, or telling your own story.
For more information about the injustices imposed upon LBGT couples and their families by US Immigration law, check out Family, Unvalued: The Discrimination, Denial, and the Fate of Binational Same-Sex Couples Under U.S. Law, a report by Immigration Equality and Human Rights Watch.
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