In politics, love can be problematic. (Just ask South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.) Add being openly gay to the mix and problems can become scandals. But something odd happened when the mayor of San Angelo, Texas followed his gay heart.
J. W. Lown absconded to Mexico to be with his same-sex lover, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. But where one would have expected to find fiery outrage, there was a surprsing calm, according to Texas Monthly....
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Gay former mayor finds acceptance in Texas
Posted by
JesSEA 886 days ago
(http://www.gaypolitics.com)
AP - In this Saturday, May 9, 2009, photo San Angelo Mayor J.W. Lown greets arriving supporters to his election party at the Old Chicken Farm Art Center in San Angelo,Texas. Lown resigned suddenly May 19 and offered a stunning explanation: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.
The mayor of this West Texas sheep ranching town offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.
They had to move, he said, because there was no legal way for them to remain together in the United States.
"It wasn't a decision that any U.S. citizen should have to make," former Mayor J.W. Lown said in an interview from Mexico. "I left a home. I left a ranch. I left a promising political career."
His local prominence and his run for the border on the day h
The mayor of this West Texas sheep ranching town offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.
They had to move, he said, because there was no legal way for them to remain together in the United States.
"It wasn't a decision that any U.S. citizen should have to make," former Mayor J.W. Lown said in an interview from Mexico. "I left a home. I left a ranch. I left a promising political career."
His local prominence and his run for the border on the day h
Speaking from Mexico, the former mayor of San Angelo, TX, Joseph W. Lown, said earlier this week he supports the Uniting American Families Act that would allow American citizens and legal immigrants to seek residency in the United States for their same-sex partners, the same as straight American citizens can now petition for foreign-born husbands and wives.
Lown resigned as San Angelo’s mayor after serving six years in that position and moved to Mexico so he and his long-term partner could legally remain together.
Lown resigned as San Angelo’s mayor after serving six years in that position and moved to Mexico so he and his long-term partner could legally remain together.
Former San Angelo Mayor J.W. Lown resigned earlier this month in order to live with his partner in Mexico. Unlike a heterosexual couple who could resolve these dilemmas through marriage, same-sex couples simply do not have that option. "Our families are constantly faced with that kind of horrible decision; to give up their lives in the [United States] or give up their partner," she said.
"It’s really a matter of fundamental fairness," Neilson said. "The immigration system is centered on the family unity, but the government fails to recognize our families."
Although a few states acknowledge the relationships of same-sex couples through marriage and civil unions, federal law, which does not extend this recognition, forbids gays and lesbians to sponsor their undocumented spouse to legally immigrate into the country.
"You still have conflict with the feder
"It’s really a matter of fundamental fairness," Neilson said. "The immigration system is centered on the family unity, but the government fails to recognize our families."
Although a few states acknowledge the relationships of same-sex couples through marriage and civil unions, federal law, which does not extend this recognition, forbids gays and lesbians to sponsor their undocumented spouse to legally immigrate into the country.
"You still have conflict with the feder
JW Lown Popular Texas Mayor Resigns For Gay Immigrant Lover
Posted by
Fight4theRight 991 days ago
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)
UAFA- Uniting Immigration Act cannot come fast enough. See how you can get involved. This has nothing to do with marriage equality - at this point - the quicker route to immigration equality is the passage of UAFA. ...
The Uniting American Families Act is intended to address the problem by allowing U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for family-based immigration purposes. UAFA was introduced in Congress by Sen. ...J.W. Lown, mayor of the west Texas city of San Angelo, has resigned in order to be with his partner, a Mexican national who does not currently have legal status in the United States. According to the San Angelo Standard-Times:
Lown said in a telephone call late Wednesday afternoon from Mexico that he has started a relationship with someone who does not have legal status in the United States. Lown said he did not want to take the oath of office knowing he was “aiding and assisting” someone who was not a citizen. “I made the final decision when I knew it was the right decision to make for me and my partner and our future - and for the community
Lown said in a telephone call late Wednesday afternoon from Mexico that he has started a relationship with someone who does not have legal status in the United States. Lown said he did not want to take the oath of office knowing he was “aiding and assisting” someone who was not a citizen. “I made the final decision when I knew it was the right decision to make for me and my partner and our future - and for the community
Gay West Texas Mayor Quits Chooses Foreign Partner Over His Job
Posted by
Fight4theRight 993 days ago
(http://www.towleroad.com)
It highlights the urgent need to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) when Obama tackles immigration reform. There are thousands of gay Americans who have foreign-born partners but because of DOMA and current policies they can ...
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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.