Love Exiles. Passionate about equality of binational gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families. December 6, 2009. To a mayor from a mayor in exile. Posted by loveexiles under equal rights for families · Leave a Comment ...
Search results for texas, mayor, resigns, undocumented, partner
To a mayor from a mayor in exile (Love Exiles)
Posted by
igualdad 901 days ago
(http://loveexiles.wordpress.com)
Gay former mayor finds acceptance in Texas
Posted by
JesSEA 993 days ago
(http://www.gaypolitics.com)
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....
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....
Support UAFA No One Should Have To Choose Between a Partner and their home
Posted by
Fight4theRight 1031 days ago
(http://wamarriage.org)
If Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation should move in this Congress, please press for UAFA – and thus our families – to be included in it. Comprehensive Immigration Reform will not be comprehensive unless all families are part ...
Tips to help you write your letter:
– State why you are writing, who you are and why UAFA matters to you.
– Provide more detail. Tell your story from the heart and support it with the
necessary facts. Provide specific, rather than general, information about
how the unfair immigration laws affect you personally.
– Close by requesting the action you want taken: cosponsorship of UAFA.
Tips to help you write your letter:
– State why you are writing, who you are and why UAFA matters to you.
– Provide more detail. Tell your story from the heart and support it with the
necessary facts. Provide specific, rather than general, information about
how the unfair immigration laws affect you personally.
– Close by requesting the action you want taken: cosponsorship of UAFA.
Growing Up Gay in Fiji Undocumented in America
Posted by
BinatUK 1056 days ago
(http://www.dailykos.com)
The legal advice was to 'get married.' I made it clear that I was gay and I would not commit marriage fraud in order to get around the discriminatory nature of U.S. immigration laws for bi-national same-sex couples. ...
Mayors move not thought out (San Angelo Standard Times)
Posted by
USABound 1078 days ago
(http://www.gosanangelo.com)
As details about J.W. Lown’s predicament emerge, it becomes clearer that the former mayor showed extraordinarily poor judgment in the decisions he made in resigning suddenly and relocating to Mexico with his partner.
The effects on San Angelo have been considered fully since his departure on May 19, the day he was to be sworn in for his fourth term. More recently it has become evident that the impulsiveness of his actions — which were out of character for San Angelo’s youngest mayor — adversely affected his own future. Even after Lown made public that his partner was here illegally, the process of deporting the man might have taken years. At any rate, immigration lawyers say he would have been in a better position for applying for legal status from here than from Mexico.
According to an immigration lawyer who commented for a story in Sunday’s Standard-Times, t
The effects on San Angelo have been considered fully since his departure on May 19, the day he was to be sworn in for his fourth term. More recently it has become evident that the impulsiveness of his actions — which were out of character for San Angelo’s youngest mayor — adversely affected his own future. Even after Lown made public that his partner was here illegally, the process of deporting the man might have taken years. At any rate, immigration lawyers say he would have been in a better position for applying for legal status from here than from Mexico.
According to an immigration lawyer who commented for a story in Sunday’s Standard-Times, t
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
Gays push for partner immigration rights (Chronicle)
Posted by
USABound 1081 days ago
(http://www.sfgate.com)
As Congress and immigrant advocacy groups gear up for the annual tussle over comprehensive immigration reform, a proposal by San Jose Rep. Mike Honda is opening up a new angle on the debate - one that some groups warn could overshadow years of effort at building consensus.
Honda's Reuniting Families Act, introduced Thursday, would extend to "permanent partners" the same naturalization rights accorded to spouses under the bill, allowing gay and lesbian Americans to seek legal residency for their immigrant same-sex partners.
"How do you define 'all families'? Traditional heterosexual families but also permanent partners, recognized as having a legitimate long-term relationship," Honda, a Democrat, said this week. "It's a civil rights issue. The idea of being on the outside looking in is something we're familiar with, it's un-American. ... I want to make sure we d
Honda's Reuniting Families Act, introduced Thursday, would extend to "permanent partners" the same naturalization rights accorded to spouses under the bill, allowing gay and lesbian Americans to seek legal residency for their immigrant same-sex partners.
"How do you define 'all families'? Traditional heterosexual families but also permanent partners, recognized as having a legitimate long-term relationship," Honda, a Democrat, said this week. "It's a civil rights issue. The idea of being on the outside looking in is something we're familiar with, it's un-American. ... I want to make sure we d
Lown and partner facing long wait
Posted by
USAFrance 1083 days ago
(http://www.gosanangelo.com)
Former San Angelo mayor Joseph W. Lown is prepared to stay in Mexico while his partner seeks a visa to come to the United States.Lown is likely facing a long stay.
“Generally speaking, based on what I know, I see no avenue for legal re-immigration anytime soon,” He has heard the odds could be insurmountable.
The two are looking for an immigration lawyer, Lown said.
Armendáriz said they should have contacted an immigration lawyer before leaving the country. They may have made the situation worse by leaving, he said. Immigration law is one of the most complicated areas of law and case-specific, Armendáriz said. But the facts in this case suggest Lown’s wait will be long.
There is a 10-year inadmissibility “bar” for people who have been here without permission for longer than one year, then seek admission or re-admission. There is a waiver for t
“Generally speaking, based on what I know, I see no avenue for legal re-immigration anytime soon,” He has heard the odds could be insurmountable.
The two are looking for an immigration lawyer, Lown said.
Armendáriz said they should have contacted an immigration lawyer before leaving the country. They may have made the situation worse by leaving, he said. Immigration law is one of the most complicated areas of law and case-specific, Armendáriz said. But the facts in this case suggest Lown’s wait will be long.
There is a 10-year inadmissibility “bar” for people who have been here without permission for longer than one year, then seek admission or re-admission. There is a waiver for t
Gays push for partner immigration rights
Posted by
USABound 1084 days ago
(http://www.sfgate.com)
As Congress and immigrant advocacy groups gear up for the annual tussle over comprehensive immigration reform, a proposal by San Jose Rep. Mike Honda is opening up a new angle on the debate - one that some groups warn could overshadow years of effort at building consensus.
Honda's Reuniting Families Act, introduced Thursday, would extend to "permanent partners" the same naturalization rights accorded to spouses under the bill, allowing gay and lesbian Americans to seek legal residency for their immigrant same-sex partners.
"How do you define 'all families'? Traditional heterosexual families but also permanent partners, recognized as having a legitimate long-term relationship," Honda, a Democrat, said this week. "It's a civil rights issue. The idea of being on the outside looking in is something we're familiar with, it's un-American. ... I want to make sure we d
Honda's Reuniting Families Act, introduced Thursday, would extend to "permanent partners" the same naturalization rights accorded to spouses under the bill, allowing gay and lesbian Americans to seek legal residency for their immigrant same-sex partners.
"How do you define 'all families'? Traditional heterosexual families but also permanent partners, recognized as having a legitimate long-term relationship," Honda, a Democrat, said this week. "It's a civil rights issue. The idea of being on the outside looking in is something we're familiar with, it's un-American. ... I want to make sure we d
Statement about Gay Partner Immigration Dooming Immigration Reform
Posted by
OurHero-Tan 1084 days ago
(http://www.dreamactivist.org)
Given the experiences of a second-class queer citizenship, what should constitute gay immigration politics is an inclusive effort to recognize citizenship as a violent construct that must not be denied to those who seek it. ... We predicted this rift over two months ago, knowing quite well that some so-called pro-family supporters of immigration unity will not swallow the idea of ‘comprehensive reforms:’
Advocates for gays and immigrants are clashing over a proposed immigration bill that would let gay and lesbian Americans sponsor their immigrant “permanent partners” for legal U.S. residency.
The chasm inside the immigrant rights community has led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — a major partner in the drive for expanded immigrant rights — to withdraw its support from a House bill to be filed Thursday that would speed up reunification of immi
Advocates for gays and immigrants are clashing over a proposed immigration bill that would let gay and lesbian Americans sponsor their immigrant “permanent partners” for legal U.S. residency.
The chasm inside the immigrant rights community has led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — a major partner in the drive for expanded immigrant rights — to withdraw its support from a House bill to be filed Thursday that would speed up reunification of immi
UAFA Would Keep Shirley Tan with her Partner and Kids (Race and Politics)
Posted by
uluckidog 1084 days ago
(http://www.racewire.org)
What struck me about the video was not simply Tan’s courage in speaking as an immigrant woman of color, a loving partner to her life companion, and a devoted parent to her two sons; but to witness the vulnerability of her 12 year old son, who silently wept as his mother spoke…
…Which leads me to the ‘hater’ part. While the hearing took place, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), ranking minority member of the Committee and the only Republican to attend the hearing but publicly opposed to UAFA, watched the boy weep and commented to his aide, “Enough with the histrionics.”
WTF?!? Sessions had the audacity to call this boy’s emotional torture of having to listen to the possibility of his family being torn apart from harmful, discriminatory immigration policy and practices as insincere theatrics??? I guess Sessions’ defense of torture easily carries over to his apparent disd
…Which leads me to the ‘hater’ part. While the hearing took place, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), ranking minority member of the Committee and the only Republican to attend the hearing but publicly opposed to UAFA, watched the boy weep and commented to his aide, “Enough with the histrionics.”
WTF?!? Sessions had the audacity to call this boy’s emotional torture of having to listen to the possibility of his family being torn apart from harmful, discriminatory immigration policy and practices as insincere theatrics??? I guess Sessions’ defense of torture easily carries over to his apparent disd
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
Gay Mayor Takes on Immigration
Posted by
BinatUK 1094 days ago
(http://likeawhisper.wordpress.com)
f 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 eve
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 eve
JW Lown Popular Texas Mayor Resigns For Gay Immigrant Lover
Posted by
Fight4theRight 1097 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. ...
“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...”
Feedburner
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.