Emergency Senate bill saves lesbian couple from deporation

[WillParkinson]

Emergency Senate bill saves lesbian couple from deporation


(Washington) A bill introduced on the house floor yesterday by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) is keeping Jay Mercado, her partner Shirley Tan and their twin 12-year-olds together - at least for now.

Mercado, an American woman and Tan, her Filipino partner, live in Pacifica, California with their 12-year-old twin sons, both American citizens. Tan had been ordered to appear for deportation on May 10, but the emergency bill will keep the family together at least through 2010.

Federal immigration law does not currently allow LGBT Americans to sponsor their partners.

Activists from around the country, including those from Marriage Equality USA, Out4Immigration, Immigration Equality and Love Exiles, learned about Tan and Mercado’s plight a month ago, and pleaded with elected officials for help. The story national prominence as a feature article in the April 20 edition of People Magazine.

http://www.365gay.com/news/emergency-senate-bill-saves-lesbian-couple-from-deporation/

Most interesting line: The UAFA currently has 97 co-sponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate. Feinstein is not one of them.

[theHandpuppet]

1. Please keep this thread kicked

And give it a recommendation.

Thanks for posting this.

[LostinVA]

2. Good for DiFi -- she gets slapped around a bit too much on here sometimes

This should be posted in GD, too.

[joeybee12]

4. Yeah, seh's often on our side...

...not as much as I'd like, but still a lot better than most.

[WillParkinson]

5. Good for DiFi?

If she's so concerned why hasn't she signed onto the bill as a co-sponsor?

Yes, I'm grateful she's helping this couple, but what about all the other couples out there facing the same issue?

[UndertheOcean]

3. Great !

[Tim01]

6. Wow. This is serious.

I never really thought about the gay marriage thing having consequences like this. Having your family broken up and deported to another country is really bad stuff.

[readmoreoften]

7. Imagine how it would be if there were a pandemic. Your partner is legally a stranger.

A straight married couple of six months will be processed by FEMA or the Red Cross as a family relation. A gay married couple of 40 years will be processed as strangers. Add children to the recipe for more tragedy.

[mitchtv]

8. This is only temporary

It needs to be renewed in 2011 or rather re introduced. It is a bandaid