"US Immigration law hurts gays"
Too right I say! I have pretty strong opinions and feelings toward same sex immigration, or lack there of in the States. I saw this article a few days ago, and was proud to think that just maybe, there is a glimpse of hope for same sex binational couples. I think regardless of whether you believe in same sex marriage, same sex couple should still be allowed to live together and BE together. People who are in binational relationships, and both live in countries that don't have same sex immigration laws, are in a world of hurt.
I believe, if you can prove your relationship (just like male/female couples) then why not allow you the same immigration rights? As we know it, there are a lot of hoax relationships out there, just for immigration status. Why should male/female couples be given presidence (sp) just because they're male/female? Maybe it wires down to the fact that people still don't believe that same sex couples should be together, therefore why allow them the ability to be together? Same sex immigration laws would allow this. But why should it be up to the government to decide whether you can even apply for immigration status, based on who you bed with????
Read the article..it's interesting.
SUMMARY: Rights groups say immigration reform must extend to thousands of U.S. citizens and their foreign-born same-sex partners.
Amid the national debate over immigration rights, Human Rights Watch and Immigration Equality issued a report Tuesday on the problems faced by thousands of U.S. citizens and their foreign-born same-sex partners.
The report, titled "Family, Unvalued: Discrimination, Denial and the Fate of Binational Same-Sex Couples under U.S. Law," documents how U.S. immigration law and federal policy discriminate against binational same-sex couples.
The 191-page report describes the consequences of this discrimination and explains how it can separate not only loving partners from one another, but also parents from children. It shows how this policy has destroyed careers, livelihoods and lives.
"Our immigration laws are undermining the traditional American values of fairness and family," said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality. "U.S. immigration policy is designed to keep families together. But the current law targets an entire class of American families and tears them apart."
Couples described abuse and harassment by immigration officials. Some told stories of being deported from the United States and separated from their partners. Many couples, forced to live in different countries or even continents, endure financial as well as emotional.
"No family should be forced apart, no matter what the sex is. This is how immigration laws have affected us," a woman in North Carolina told report authors, describing how her Hungarian partner and their children were forced to leave the United States. "We are separated and without each other. . . . We just want to be together, that's all."
Many U.S. citizens are obliged to live in countries where their relationships are recognized. At least 19 nations worldwide provide some form of immigration benefits to the same-sex partners of citizens and permanent residents, while the United States still refuses. These countries include Canada as well as 13 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). On other continents, this list includes Brazil, Israel, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The report details how current U.S. exclusionary policies are rooted in a long history of anti-immigrant sentiment, in which fears of sexuality have played a steady part. From the McCarthy era until 1990, U.S. law barred foreign-born lesbians and gay men from entering the country.
The United States is also one of the few industrialized countries that ban entry by HIV-positive individuals.
The report concludes that Congress should immediately pass the Uniting American Families Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., and Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., would offer binational same-sex couples' relationships the same recognition and treatment afforded to binational married couples.
"I don't think it's going to happen in this Congress," admitted Scott Long, co-author of the report and director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program for Human Rights Watch. But Long believes this bill will "create the groundwork for the next Congress and the Congress after that."
"It is conceivable that the bill can be passed within four years," he said.If you'd like to know more, you can find stories related to Report: U.S. immigration law hurts gays.
current mood:Cold, it's bloody cold
I believe, if you can prove your relationship (just like male/female couples) then why not allow you the same immigration rights? As we know it, there are a lot of hoax relationships out there, just for immigration status. Why should male/female couples be given presidence (sp) just because they're male/female? Maybe it wires down to the fact that people still don't believe that same sex couples should be together, therefore why allow them the ability to be together? Same sex immigration laws would allow this. But why should it be up to the government to decide whether you can even apply for immigration status, based on who you bed with????
Read the article..it's interesting.
SUMMARY: Rights groups say immigration reform must extend to thousands of U.S. citizens and their foreign-born same-sex partners.
Amid the national debate over immigration rights, Human Rights Watch and Immigration Equality issued a report Tuesday on the problems faced by thousands of U.S. citizens and their foreign-born same-sex partners.
The report, titled "Family, Unvalued: Discrimination, Denial and the Fate of Binational Same-Sex Couples under U.S. Law," documents how U.S. immigration law and federal policy discriminate against binational same-sex couples.
The 191-page report describes the consequences of this discrimination and explains how it can separate not only loving partners from one another, but also parents from children. It shows how this policy has destroyed careers, livelihoods and lives.
"Our immigration laws are undermining the traditional American values of fairness and family," said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality. "U.S. immigration policy is designed to keep families together. But the current law targets an entire class of American families and tears them apart."
Couples described abuse and harassment by immigration officials. Some told stories of being deported from the United States and separated from their partners. Many couples, forced to live in different countries or even continents, endure financial as well as emotional.
"No family should be forced apart, no matter what the sex is. This is how immigration laws have affected us," a woman in North Carolina told report authors, describing how her Hungarian partner and their children were forced to leave the United States. "We are separated and without each other. . . . We just want to be together, that's all."
Many U.S. citizens are obliged to live in countries where their relationships are recognized. At least 19 nations worldwide provide some form of immigration benefits to the same-sex partners of citizens and permanent residents, while the United States still refuses. These countries include Canada as well as 13 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). On other continents, this list includes Brazil, Israel, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The report details how current U.S. exclusionary policies are rooted in a long history of anti-immigrant sentiment, in which fears of sexuality have played a steady part. From the McCarthy era until 1990, U.S. law barred foreign-born lesbians and gay men from entering the country.
The United States is also one of the few industrialized countries that ban entry by HIV-positive individuals.
The report concludes that Congress should immediately pass the Uniting American Families Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., and Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., would offer binational same-sex couples' relationships the same recognition and treatment afforded to binational married couples.
"I don't think it's going to happen in this Congress," admitted Scott Long, co-author of the report and director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program for Human Rights Watch. But Long believes this bill will "create the groundwork for the next Congress and the Congress after that."
"It is conceivable that the bill can be passed within four years," he said.If you'd like to know more, you can find stories related to Report: U.S. immigration law hurts gays.
current mood:Cold, it's bloody cold
posted by Gaylicious© at Saturday, May 06, 2006
1 Say something already!!
