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 704 days ago
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
A Binational Xmas Wish in A letter to President Obama
Posted by
BinatUK 878 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 1028 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 1028 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
Gay marriage legal from today in Hungary but gap in rights persists
Posted by
SFbeat 1051 days ago
(http://www.caboodle.hu)
Homosexual couples can forge life partnerships before public notaries from Wednesday.These life partnerships will be guaranteed the same tax, employment, social and immigration benefits as heterosexual marriages. Gay couples will be barred from adopting children and taking their spouse's name, however.
Constitutional Court spokesman András Sereg told Magyar Hírlap that the Act, which was passed in March, can only now be challenged at the Constitutional Court.
Constitutional Court spokesman András Sereg told Magyar Hírlap that the Act, which was passed in March, can only now be challenged at the Constitutional Court.
• Voice his support for the Uniting American Families Act and reassure gay Americans he will sign the legislation once it hits his desk.
• An apology for letting his Justice Department, among other things, compare gay American families to incestuous relationships. But as we just learned, that is not about to happen.
Listening to Obama talk about gay people here, he sounds like our ally — the man we knew during the presidential campaign. Hearing him speak so fondly of the gay community, and the rights we deserve, is reassuring. But we've come to learn we can't trust Obama's words alone. No action? No trust.
• An apology for letting his Justice Department, among other things, compare gay American families to incestuous relationships. But as we just learned, that is not about to happen.
Listening to Obama talk about gay people here, he sounds like our ally — the man we knew during the presidential campaign. Hearing him speak so fondly of the gay community, and the rights we deserve, is reassuring. But we've come to learn we can't trust Obama's words alone. No action? No trust.
The Gay Guide to Obamas remarks today (The Huffington Post)
Posted by
MikeLA 1071 days ago
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
Late yesterday, in the White House's daily guidance email to the press corps, one of the items caught people off guard:
In the evening, the President will deliver brief remarks and sign a Presidential Memorandum regarding federal benefits and non-discrimination in the Oval Office. This event is pooled press.
The networks scrambled to make sense of it and the print media posted conflicting reports of what it meant. What's the difference between an Executive Order and a Presidential Memorandum? Will the extension of benefits include health care and retirement? Will the transgender community receive employment protections in the Federal Workforce? Does Obama plan to announce his plan to honor his promises to the LGBT community?
These are all great questions. Some of them have already been answered through the night...
In the evening, the President will deliver brief remarks and sign a Presidential Memorandum regarding federal benefits and non-discrimination in the Oval Office. This event is pooled press.
The networks scrambled to make sense of it and the print media posted conflicting reports of what it meant. What's the difference between an Executive Order and a Presidential Memorandum? Will the extension of benefits include health care and retirement? Will the transgender community receive employment protections in the Federal Workforce? Does Obama plan to announce his plan to honor his promises to the LGBT community?
These are all great questions. Some of them have already been answered through the night...
Take Action for UAFA Today!
Posted by
Fight4theRight 1087 days ago
(http://www.usimmigrationwoes.com)
We need your help to make sure that the historic Senate Judiciary hearing on the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) has the absolute best outcome possible. It is a very busy day in the Senate on Wednesday, June 3, and many Senators ...
A Crack in the Floodgates
Posted by
SFbeat 1095 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
Today in Gay Mayors
Posted by
ATLdave 1098 days ago
(http://slog.thestranger.com)
J.W. Lown, the mayor of San Angelo, Texas, has a gay lover living in Mexico who isn't a U.S. citizen. So he handed in his resignation just before he was supposed to be sworn in for his fourth term:
Lown said he did not want to take the oath of office knowing he was “aiding and assisting” someone who was not a citizen.
Lown said the man came to the United States five years ago. He attended Angelo State University. Lown said the relationship started after March. Lown and the man are in Mexico awaiting a visa to come back legally.
“I did the best I could,” Lown said. “I had to get down here and get everything in order to make a life for myself.”
If Lown's lover were a woman, she could just get married and move to Texas, right? But no such equality for his male lover—even the male lover of an upstanding mayor. Seems like a case for Immigration E
Lown said he did not want to take the oath of office knowing he was “aiding and assisting” someone who was not a citizen.
Lown said the man came to the United States five years ago. He attended Angelo State University. Lown said the relationship started after March. Lown and the man are in Mexico awaiting a visa to come back legally.
“I did the best I could,” Lown said. “I had to get down here and get everything in order to make a life for myself.”
If Lown's lover were a woman, she could just get married and move to Texas, right? But no such equality for his male lover—even the male lover of an upstanding mayor. Seems like a case for Immigration E
A Practical Wedding: Celebrating Freedom In Vermont
Posted by
UnitedByLove 1139 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 1139 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 1142 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
'I do,' but I can't, yet
Posted by
freedom2immigrate 1142 days ago
(http://www.reformer.com)
"It is true that passing a same-sex marriage bill won't guarantee federal benefits -- at least it won't until the day the federal Defense of Marriage Act is repealed." I finally felt acknowledged reading the editorial in the March 18 Reformer .
“How may I assist with these stories, if at all?...”
“My question back to you is how do we get immigration reform defined as a...”
“Watch the actual video on ABC 7's website, and you'll see that he's really...”
“Thanks. I shortened it through tinyurl. Works now....”
“Note from imeQ about this editorial: This is an independent project which...”
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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.