Immigration Equality is an organization that works to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law, to reduce the negative impact of that law on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive people, and to help obtain asylum for those persecuted in their home country based on their sexual orientation, transgender identity or HIV-status. Through education, outreach, advocacy, and the maintenance of a nationwide network of resources, we provide information and support to advocates, attorneys, politicians and those who are threatened by persecution or the discriminatory impact of the law.
The first event was a lecture and Q&A by Professor Joeseph Landau of the Fordham Law School, on the upcoming US Supreme cases dealing with the issue of Marriage Equality. The two cases of course, are the Perry Case, challenging California's Proposition 8, and the Windsor Case, which challenges the Federal Defense of Marriage Act..
The second event was last night here in Central London. We attended a special screening of the soon to be released movie "I Do". The movie tells the story about Jack, a Gay British man living in New York, where has been since he was student. After his brother is killed in a traffic accident, he cares for his Brother's American widow and daughter. When his visa runs out, he is forced – by discrimination – to enter into a sham marriage with Ali, his Lesbian best friend to get a Green Card so he can remain in the US to care for his family.
Things are complicated when Jack falls for Mano, a handsome Spaniard who happens to be an American citizen. For Jack, balancing his responsibilities as a surrogate dad, being a "green card” husband, and beginning a new relationship, becomes too much for him.
Things are complicated when Jack falls for Mano, a handsome Spaniard who happens to be an American citizen. For Jack, balancing his responsibilities as a surrogate dad, being a "green card” husband, and beginning a new relationship, becomes too much for him.
After Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain and interview Ali and Jack, Ali realizes she’s in over her head and files for divorce. Mano, ready for a commitment and believing since he can legally marry Jack in New York, he can keep him in the country and proposes. Their immigration attorney, however, informs them that even though Mano is an American citizen, immigration is a Federal level right not afforded to gay marriage on the State level. Therefore, their getting married won’t make any difference. Jack will be deported unless he marries another woman.
The film which is making the rounds on the film festival circuit, powerfully shows the very real impact DOMA has. What’s left in the balance are families and couples often split apart, especially those with bi-national makeups. Immigration, which most heterosexual couples take for granted as a given, complicates same-sex relationships, even in states where marriage is now legal.
In talking with the other couples, we discovered that all of us had come away from both events with two basic reactions, The first, was a greater appreciation of how lucky we are to live where we do. The United Kingdom, like most of the European Union, gives same sex couples all the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples. Even if, like here in the UK, it is not called "marriage". (Here the official term is "Civil Partnership".) We can have a long debate over what's in a name, and I have blogged on that topic in past. But, from the point of view of many here, since the rights are the same, the rest is just semantics.
The second thing we found, was that the other couples we met all shared the same frustration we struggle with. The fact that we had no choice but the leave the US and become "DOMA Exiles". The question we all get asked a lot is; "So, if the Supreme Court struck down DOMA and you could move back to America with your spouse, would you?" That is a very complicated question, that frankly doesn't have a simple Yes or No answer.
For most Americans living in DOMA Exile, having been forced to make the choice between Love or Country was both deeply emotional, and logistically difficult. Leaving, friends, family, jobs and basically everything else you have known behind, simply to be with the person you love is an exhausting experience. Also one that is naturally is tinged with a certain degree of resentment at your own country, for treating you as a second class citizen, and for treating your legal spouse as something even less than that.
Like many bi-national couples here in London, the idea of packing up our lives (again) and moving across the world after having done so once, is a daunting prospect. So for us, it's not so much about waiting with our bags half-packed, in breathless anticipation for DOMA to be struck down so we can jump on a plane and move back the the U.S. It's more about being treated equally under the law, and thus having the option to move back to America. An option that thanks to the blatant discrimination of DOMA, we don't current have.
Yet like many of our fellow DOMA Exiles, and those couples in the United States who are facing DOMA induced separations, we will be watching carefully next week when oral arguments in both the Perry and Windsor cases begin at the U.S. Supreme Court.
So, next week, when you hear self-proclaimed "Defenders of Marriage" say how striking down laws like CA Prop 8, and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is "an attack" on "traditional marriage", realize that the truth is, the Tony Perkins', Brian Browns' and Bryan Fishers' of the world have no interest in defending anything other than their own bigotry.
What's more you will hear these mouthpieces of hate, all next week spew their bile of how the idea that all Americans should have equal rights under the law, is somehow an attack on them.
It is very difficult to predict how the rulings will go when they are handed down in June. But we are excited and hopeful that the court will see this is a moment that history will remember. It is for moments like this that America's founding fathers created the separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive branches. Just like with decisions past, such as Dred Scott, Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade, for those nine justices, this fork in the road of American history is clearly marked.
We can more forward, or we can stumble back, and history is watching...
For most Americans living in DOMA Exile, having been forced to make the choice between Love or Country was both deeply emotional, and logistically difficult. Leaving, friends, family, jobs and basically everything else you have known behind, simply to be with the person you love is an exhausting experience. Also one that is naturally is tinged with a certain degree of resentment at your own country, for treating you as a second class citizen, and for treating your legal spouse as something even less than that.
Like many bi-national couples here in London, the idea of packing up our lives (again) and moving across the world after having done so once, is a daunting prospect. So for us, it's not so much about waiting with our bags half-packed, in breathless anticipation for DOMA to be struck down so we can jump on a plane and move back the the U.S. It's more about being treated equally under the law, and thus having the option to move back to America. An option that thanks to the blatant discrimination of DOMA, we don't current have.
Yet like many of our fellow DOMA Exiles, and those couples in the United States who are facing DOMA induced separations, we will be watching carefully next week when oral arguments in both the Perry and Windsor cases begin at the U.S. Supreme Court.
What's more you will hear these mouthpieces of hate, all next week spew their bile of how the idea that all Americans should have equal rights under the law, is somehow an attack on them.
It is very difficult to predict how the rulings will go when they are handed down in June. But we are excited and hopeful that the court will see this is a moment that history will remember. It is for moments like this that America's founding fathers created the separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive branches. Just like with decisions past, such as Dred Scott, Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade, for those nine justices, this fork in the road of American history is clearly marked.
We can more forward, or we can stumble back, and history is watching...
