It's not a perfect bill; if you click a few links and look at the text, it wouldn't immediately make gay marriage the law of the entire land. What it would do is entitle the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages contracted in those states and foreign countries that allow them. My college friend and her wife in Massachusetts, for instance, could get federal marriage benefits as well as state benefits, but their marriage would still probably not be recognized in Arkansas. However, the bill also recognizes foreign gay marriage, so that, say, a married Canadian couple could move to Massachusetts and still have their marriage be recognized.
The other thing I like about this bill is that it smooths a little more of the path for the Uniting American Families Act, which is a bill that would try to take care of Americans who go abroad to marry same-sex partners who are not U.S. citizens, but who then must leave the country and become permanent expatriates because the foreign marriage isn't enough to sponsor the spouse for immigration. From my interpretation of the text of this bill, it would allow these couples to move to states where gay marriage is recognized. For the record, this would be: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and (for the moment) Maine. Possibly also New York, which does not allow gay marriage itself, but recognizes gay marriages performed out-of-state.
I find it fascinating that the legislators sponsoring this bill are from Minnesota, a state which does not currently allow gay marriage. I've never been to Minnesota, but perhaps this should change at some point in the future....
Congress Makes A Move
Posted by
UnitedByLove 956 days ago
(http://pargoletta.livejournal.com)
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Promoting public awareness of the need for fairness in immigration policy particularly as it relates to the rights of same-sex bi-national couples in the United States who seek equal immigration rights; Providing information regarding political issues relating to gay immigration equality issues, rights and policy.
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