United by Love, United by Law

Prominent gay Democratic Party donor Jonathan Lewis is pledging to cut off funds to the party over his disappointment that bi-national same-sex couples were excluded from the immigration reform bill.

In a statement provided to the Washington Blade on Tuesday, the Miami-based philanthropist said he’s turning off the tap for Democrats and urging others to do the same over the immigration issue and President Obama’s reluctance to issue an executive order barring LGBT workplace discrimination.

GetEQUAL's Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez talks about same-sex binationals being left out of immigration reform on MSNBC.

"While we have prevailed over a lot, we are still threatened by our unstable future here in the US. Our path this far hasn’t been easy. Because Ky is not American, and we are not granted the same rights as heterosexuals - the right to obtain a federally recognized marriage - all our major and many minor life decisions have hinged on our inability to secure a green card for Ky. We’ve uprooted twice following student and work visas around the country, which is a huge financial, emotional, and social disruption. I worked to provide for our family when Ky was prohibited by law to hold a job, and we lived on a single income against our wishes (and to Ky’s dismay)."

We first met almost 28 years ago, when I was a college exchange student in London and Bev was on her young adult walk-about off that big island called…

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) proposed two amendments to the Gang of Eight immigration legislation to extend legal rights to gay couples, one of whom is foreign born. Gay rights advocates are looking for 10 votes from the judiciary committee to advance the bill, including one from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who indicated she would vote 'yes', if language is added making it mandatory for gay couples to legally marry. This would require same-sex binationals living in a state that does not have marriage equality to travel to one of the 11 states, Washington D.C. or foreign country that does have equal marriage laws and enter into a union there. 

"A strategic master stroke" and "brilliant" is how Leahy's second amendment is being described. It recognizes same-sex binational couples who are married in a state or foreign country where the marriage is legal, for immigration purposes only. A fix while we wait for DOMA to be fully and completely removed from the books.

Leahy also filed an amendment to include the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) into the immigration bill. Thus far, the language of UAFA, which creates a separate category of "permananent partners" has been a tough hurdle for most Republicans and a few Democrats (like Sen. Dianne Feinstein) to get their heads around. But with more than 50 Senators from both parties supporting marriage equality, asking that our marriages be recognized for immigration purposes has turned the focus onto the rights of LGBT American citizens who are legally married to someone from another country.

Those who support marriage equality will be hard-pressed to come up with an argument against the inclusion of married same-sex binationals.

I moved to Mexico City after college and fell in love with the country and its people. After one year, I fell in love again, this time with Gabriel.  We met on…

Sen. Patrick Leahy withdrew his proposed amendment to the comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have recognized the marriages of same-sex couples for immigration purposes on Tuesday night, after several Democratic members of the committee stated that they would not be supporting it.

A little past 7 p.m., Leahy said, “It is with a heavy heart … I will withhold the Leahy Amendment 7 at this point.”

Leahy offered the amendment a half-hour earlier, saying, “I don’t want to be the senator who asks Americans to choose between the love of their life and the love of their country.”

He added, “Discriminating against people based on who they love is a travesty,” noting that he wanted to hear from the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators about why they didn’t include protections for gay couples in the bill.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called a meeting with prominent New York gay elected officials and activists amid concern over whether a provision sought by same-sex couples will be included in the immigration reform bill, POLITICO has learned.

Two organized RELIGIOUS groups are using their “considerable political influence” in an effort to derail two (2) amendments to the Gang of Eight’s Immigration Reform Proposal that would create a legal avenue for America’s gay and lesbian citizens in binational relationships to sponsor their foreign partners for legal immigration…

The Supreme Court has the fate of same-sex couples in its hands. Will the court stand with equality and rule that marriage, and the benefits that come with it, should be available to all couples regardless of sexuality? Or will it uphold the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8?

For some same-sex couples, the issue is made even more complicated by our country’s immigration laws. In his video Op-Ed “Eric and Juan,” Jens Erik Gould introduces us to a same-sex couple who got married in 2008, during the brief time when gay marriage was legal in California. Though Eric and Juan have built a life together here, DOMA prevents Juan from applying for a green card through marriage. It is among the many federal benefits the two are denied.

From a pure political perspective, supporting inclusion of same-sex couples in the immigration reform bill should be a slam dunk for both Democrats and Republicans. Scuttling the package over this provision would alienate the growing Latino constituency by blocking a pathway to citizenship — and denying rights to LGBT Americans would be ignoring the direction of the country on civil rights.

"Because we still only have marriage equality in a handful of states. Because we still do not know which way DOMA and the Prop. 8 cases will be ruled on by the Supreme Court. Because same-sex binationals, already suffering extreme financial hardship after years of trying to keep our families together with no legal safety net whatsoever, should not be forced to make an expensive trip to a state or country that will marry us because of continued discrimination in a home state."

Jason and Oscar met in Peru. But they have never even been able to get Oscar a visa to come to the U.S. to visit. Another story about same-sex binational couple who needs immigration reform and DOMA to be repealed.

 Several Republican members of this bipartisan group have explicitly said that adding same-sex couples would doom the legislation. And now, last week's bombings in Boston appear to be another hurdle for immigration reform to overcome.