My friends are an opposite-sex couple. They married in June of last year. The wife is from California and the husband is from Great Britain. Upon receiving their marriage certificate they were immediately able to apply for his American citizenship and a work visa. While the paper work took about a year to process, he is now able to work in the United States. It does not work the same way for same-sex couples.
During a dinner discussion my neighbor’s asked us if we were married. I said, “Unfortunately we are unable to get married at this time. We hope to some day.” I went on to explain how lucky they were that they could get married. I also told them to appreciate their ability to apply for American citizenship, because I could not do the same for my partner if he was foreign born.
Preventing Lesbian and Gay Americans from sponsoring their foreign born loved ones is one of the meanest assaults on my community. The law as it stands forces couples to choose between family and country. Good hard working citizens are forced to leave the United States to keep their families together. How does this exemplify the American dream? It does not.
These Americans that choose to leave to keep their families together are forced to close businesses, quit jobs, and take their tax base with them. Their brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers suffer as their family member moves thousands of miles away just to keep their family together. Children are uprooted from their schools and their friends in exchange for keeping both parents. Those that don’t leave the United States are forcefully separated by the United States Government. Their loved one is shipped home and separated from the rest of the family unit.
It is time to end this assault on American families. It is time to reunite families forcefully divided by old stereotypes and prejudices. It is time to pass the Reuniting Families Act.
