For supporters of LGBT rights, the election of President Obama represented an apparent historical turning point for sexual minorities in our country. As a presidential candidate, Obama had said all of the rights things: he criticized the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy (DADT); he called for the enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would protect employees against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination; and called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
But now that almost a third of Obama's first term has gone by, there is growing despair among many of his LGBT supporters over how little the administration has accomplished on gay rights. We have been here before. Eighteen years ago many gay rights advocates celebrated the election of President Clinton, the first presidential candidate to reach out to the LGBT c
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Obama and LGBT Rights
Posted by
UnitedByLove 40 days ago
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
A Binational Xmas Wish in A letter to President Obama
Posted by
BinatUK 214 days ago
(http://lezgetreal.com)
Mr. President, with great respect, I am mentioning this during the holiday season because this time for many is fraught with sadness, fear and pain. Exiled Americans, who are with their spouses, cannot come home to spend Xmas with extended families and if they do, they have to leave spouses abroad. Tens of thousands of same sex couples are unable to spend these holidays together because they are stuck in different countries. These families cannot wait any longer. Our binational spouses and partners are being turned away at US airports, even as I write these words, at the arbitrary instance of an ICE officer....
The time is now, lest immigration be maligned further. A nation born of immigrants, whether Hispanic, Asian, African, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, we are forgetting the forbearance shown our forefathers and forgoing the ... U.S. Representative Mike Honda, who represents California’s 15th Congressional district (including Silicon Valley) has long been a supporter of immigration reform. In today’s Roll Call (popular in-game newspaper on Capitol Hill), there is an opinion piece by Congressman Honda that refreshingly includes binational same-sex couples while giving examples of why the current immigration system must be reformed....
Another constituent, Judy Rickard, will permanently leave America this November in an effort to keep her family together. Under U.S. law, she cannot be reunited with her partner, Karin Bogliolo, a UK national. Judy would have preferred to
Another constituent, Judy Rickard, will permanently leave America this November in an effort to keep her family together. Under U.S. law, she cannot be reunited with her partner, Karin Bogliolo, a UK national. Judy would have preferred to
A Gross Unfairness (I Said I Do Today)
Posted by
Fight4theRight 364 days ago
(http://isaididotoday.com)
A report issued in 2006 by two nongovernmental organizations, Human Rights Watch and Immigration Equality, describes the written response made in 1975 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to an American citizen's petition to sponsor a foreign same-sex partner for legal residency in the United States. The INS denied the petition for the following reason: "You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots." Except perhaps in the explicitness of language, federal policy toward same-sex binational couples has changed little since then. On June 3 of this year, Congress held its first-ever hearing on the plight of such couples and brought attention to the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), sponsored in the Senate by Patrick Leahy and in the House by Jerrold Nadler (and subsequently folded into a larger immigration reform bill). Introd
A Gross Unfairness The Workings of the Straight State (The Nation)
Posted by
BinatUK 364 days ago
(http://www.thenation.com)
It is not really news that inhabitants of the United States are governed by what historian Margot Canaday calls, in the title of her excellent book, a "straight state." For some time now, scholars of sexuality (following in the footsteps of those who have studied and challenged the race and gender hierarchies embedded in state policies and actions) have professed the analytical goal of what historian Lisa Duggan, writing in 1994, called "queering the state." These scholars have argued that the supposed naturalness of the heterosexual couple, and the unnaturalness of alternatives, is presumed and reinforced in the ordinary workings of government. Canaday's substantial contribution is to trace, in gripping and at times horrifying detail, exactly how the United States came to operate in this fashion over the course of much of the twentieth century. The Straight State provides a compelling
A Crack in the Floodgates
Posted by
SFbeat 431 days ago
(http://www.jerekeys.com)
I have a theory (it could be bunnies) about the current foot-dragging of the federal government around LGBT rights. Why has Obama forsaken us on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Why is the Senate considering stalling the Matthew Shepard Act by tying it once again into a defense spending bill? Why hasn’t the House moved on an inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act? Why won’t the government end the ban on HIV positive visitors or sponsoring same-sex partners for immigration to the United States? Why isn’t anyone talking about a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and a federal civil union bill (or marriage equality for that matter)? Why can’t we even get our goddammed legal marriages counted on the goddammed census?
For perspective, ask yourself when was the..
...sponsoring same-sex partners for immigration to ... repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and a fe
For perspective, ask yourself when was the..
...sponsoring same-sex partners for immigration to ... repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and a fe
A Practical Wedding: Celebrating Freedom In Vermont
Posted by
UnitedByLove 475 days ago
(http://www.apracticalwedding.com)
meg, you rule. thanks for linking to the heartbreaking post about the mom facing deportation... there's a bill right now called the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)...check out what you can do over at www.immigrationequality.org ...
A Gay Mom Faces Deportation
Posted by
JoseDFW 475 days ago
(http://overturn8.nclrights.org)
She has 12 year-old twins with her partner of 23 years, but Shirley Tan can’t get her green cards by marrying - unlike heterosexual immigrants.
A Closer Look at the President's Faith-Based Advisory Council
Posted by
DividedByLaw 478 days ago
(http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org)
...advocates for Indian women who are victims of domestic abuse and other human rights violations. ... advocated for comprehensive immigration
A Tale of Two Settees Uniting American Families Act
Posted by
UnitedByLove 478 days ago
(http://juanoclock.livejournal.com)
Uniting American Families Act, aka "H.R. 1024", aka "S. 424", aka UAFA However you say it, it's a good thing and I'm rather excited about it. Introduced in February 12 (2 days before Valentine's Day) by New York Democratic Congressman ...
A Call for Pen to Paper/Hand to Keyboard
Posted by
ATLdave 478 days ago
(http://blogout.justout.com)
The link concerns the letter-writing campaign for the Uniting American Families Act. Click here to make your voice heard.
A Simple Change Would End Couple's Nightmare
Posted by
UnitedByLove 480 days ago
(http://www.courier-journal.com)
Glance through the snow-framed windows of Vermont homes, and you'll see couples like Sissi and Janet poring through seed catalogues and dreaming of spring.
A good idea, in theory
Posted by
UnitedByLove 480 days ago
(http://www.washingtonblade.com)
It was a good idea in theory. The congressional LGBT Equality Caucus assembles a group of experts on lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender issues, invites the many new Capitol Hill staffers to an hour-long ...
A test case on same-sex fairness
Posted by
freedom2immigrate 480 days ago
(http://www.sfgate.com)
Shirley Tan is a 43-year old Pacifica homemaker and mother of twin seventh-grade boys.
A test case on same-sex fairness (San Francisco Chronicle)
Posted by
MikeLA 480 days ago
(http://www.sfgate.com)
Shirley Tan is a 43-year old Pacifica homemaker and mother of twin seventh-grade boys. Tan also wears an ankle bracelet assigned by immigration agents after a dawn raid on her home two months ago. Barring a legal miracle, she faces likely deportation... Presented By: Inside Guantanamo: Sunday at 9P e/p Guantanamo Bay is one of the world's controversial prisons. This may be its final chapter. ...
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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.