If U.S. marriage policies extended to all consenting adults and U.S. immigration policy included the right for gay families to petition for their loved ones, Lown and his partner would not have had to leave the U.S. Were our laws set up to honor loving partnerships between consenting adults regardless of gender or sexuality, they could have made a legal commitment to one another that reflected their emotional one; that commitment would have extended the rights of citizenship accordingly. There is no telling how many immigrants and bi-national families have left this country because of these unequal standards.
While Lown and his partner’s plan should garner him a visa to re-enter, as long as no one puts a hold on his application for staying beyond the terms of his original education visa, visas are temporary. And U.S immigration policy continues to exclude queer families even in those states in which gay marriage is legal.
Then presidential-candidate Obama promised that he would extend family reunification protections to queer families as part of his immigration reform package outlined on his website. As of now, HR1024, the Uniting American Families Act, has not been passed despite 99 co-sponsors in the House and 19 in the Senate. As you can imagine, this puts loving families in jeopardy across this nation.
Lown’s decision to leave office is not only brave but also helps to raise awareness of the ongoing plight of queer families because of DOMA and heterosexist immigration laws.
Gay Mayor Takes on Immigration
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BinatUK 1087 days ago
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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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