Tag Archives: marriage

Help me and Tawn get married

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Tawn and I need your help, please.  Just a few minutes of it.

On November 4th, Californians will vote on Proposition 8 which will explicity take away the right of gay men and lesbian women to marry.  Tawn and I, now together for almost nine years, are planning on getting married when we are back in California this December.  We need your help to get the word out to Californians to vote NO on Proposition 8.

No On Prop 8

Outside of the issue of equal rights, this would represent a frightening precedent of the rights of a minority being taken away after they have been won.  This is a disturbing example of Alex de Tocqueville’s “tyranny of the majority”, whereby majority opinion is allowed to trample the civil rights of the minority.

Here’s how you can help me and Tawn:

Contact the people you know in California – let them know about me and Tawn and that if Proposition 8 passes, we’ll be unable to marry in December.  Ask them to vote no on the proposition and to talk with their friends, family and fellow citizens, too.  

If you are a Californian, talk to people who think differently from you – it is easy to “preach to the choir” but the ones who need to hear form you are the undecided voters, the ones for whom a personal story will make all the differentce.  Studies have shown that personalizing the issues makes people more supportive of equal rights.

If you are a registered voter in California, remember to vote – right now the proposition is slightly ahead in voter support.  To defeat it, we will need ever supporter who is registered to vote to actually get out to the polls.  Your vote will count!

Consider contributing to the “No on 8” campaign – They are being outspent by 2-to-1 by donations from outside the state, 30% of which have come from the Mormon Church.  I have already made a donation and hope you will join me.  Even if you donate just $10, you will help buy valuable television airtime so our side of the debate can be heard.  Click here to donate at Equality California’s secure website.

I know that we are ready for the political silly season to be over.  Hang in there and help me and Tawn out for this one last issue!  We’re looking forward to sharing your marriage with you this December, but we can’t do it without your support.  Vote NO on Proposition 8.

Thanks for your help.

Same-sex immigration on Dem’s agenda

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As many of you are aware, the reason I live in Thailand is because Tawn, my partner of 8+ years, is a Thai national.  US immigration laws being what they are, it is increasingly difficult for citizens of other nations to find legal means of residence in the United States.

When I speak with my American friends and acquaintances, even well-educated and liberal ones, I’m amazed at the number of people who don’t realize that, unlike opposite-sex couples, Tawn and I have no immigration rights as a couple.

For example, if Tawn and I were an opposite-sex couple, even an unmarried one, as the US citizen I would be able to apply for an “engagement visa”, which would allow Tawn to move to the US and, provided we were subsequently married within six months, apply for residency and then citizenship.

And, of course, if we were an opposite-sex couple and were married, the path for him to move to the US would be smoothly paved and well-marked.

That, unfortunately, is not the case for us.  Even if we were to get legally married in Massachusetts or to have a civil union in Vermont, we would still not have immigration rights, nor any of the 1,200+ other rights afforded opposite-sex married couples by the United States Federal Government.

I say this not to complain – I’m quite happy living in Thailand – but to make all of you aware of these facts.  As we head into the election season, I would ask that you evaluate candidates on, among other things, whether or not they support allowing committed, loving same-sex couples to receive the same rights and privileges of opposite-sex couples enjoy, particularly with regards to immigration.

Here is a press release from Love Exiles, a group with which I’m involved that specifically advocates for the rights of same-sex couples in which one of the partners is a US citizen and the other is a foreign national.

Thanks for your support!

 

Same-sex immigration on Democrats’ agenda

Amsterdam, Sunday, 20 April 2008 – For Immediate Release

 

With the presidential election looming, Democrats have set their sights on immigration rights for same-sex partners of U.S. citizens.

 

At their recent Global Convention in Vancouver, Canada, Democrats Abroad adopted a platform that calls on Congress to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). The bill would amend U.S. immigration law and allow a U.S. citizen to sponsor a same-sex foreign partner.

 

“It hurts to be a second-class citizen,” said Bob Bragar, an American attorney who moved to Amsterdam in 1994 to be with his Dutch partner. “I am effectively deprived of the right to live in my own country. My husband Rik and I can only visit as tourists.”

 

Bragar chairs the Dutch branch of Democrats Abroad and, in August, will be a delegate for Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

 

One of Bragar’s top goals at the Denver convention is to ensure that changing America’s unfair immigration law is a priority for the eventual Democratic candidate.

 

Recently, both Democratic candidates have spoken out in favor of change.

 

On April 7, Sen. Hillary Clinton told talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres that she would defend gay rights as president and eliminate disparities for same-sex couples in federal law, including immigration policy.

 

In an open letter to the LGBT community earlier this year, Sen. Barack Obama declared his support for UAFA and equal immigration rights for same-sex couples. “I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act, so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system,” wrote Obama.

 

Bragar, who is legally married in the Netherlands, is a board member of Love Exiles, a community of American citizens and their partners forced to live outside the USA due to immigration restrictions.

 

Love Exiles represents thousands of couples who do not have the freedom to live with their chosen partners because of issues of nationality and sexuality.

 

Today, only 17 countries provide any possibility for their gay and lesbian citizens to sponsor a foreign partner for immigration. 

 

Contact Love Exiles via Martha McDevitt-Pugh (+31) (0)6 2150 4249